Uncharted Island
by adversary2113
Summary: Sequel to Island Hopping. What happens when the 29Downers wreck on an uncharted island with a giant monster, Lex having visions and one of their own goes missing? Plenty! Rated M for the usual reasons.
1. Chapter 1

I know I said three days, but I decided not to wait. And that's with me doing another story too! Please check out "Jackson's Other Lives" if you get a chance.

This story is dedicated to my favorite reviewers, Sugar144, AngelOfVengeance8 and especially Joucelin Hades for her patience with my incessant need for ego stroking. I also want to thank all of the people who added me to their favorite story lists. Take a bow folks!

29 Down alumni news: Johnny Pacar is now on Make It or Break It , Monday nights on ABC family. He has a new band, Fairlene, with an excellent song on MySpace and he has started a Facebook page as well. Oh, his show is up for A Teen's Choice nomination. Run and vote.

This story contains sexual situations, slash, drug references and graphic violence. I do not own any of the Flight 29 Down characters created by D.J. MacHale and Stan Rogow.

Please Note: My stories tend to refer to the books for the series more often than the tv episodes. That's because there was a lot of material in the books that didn't get onto the air. My favorite book character is Big J, from Ten Simple Rules, which was made from the series bible. It's a shame they never made a prequel to the show from it.

Drum roll please:

Flight 29 Down: Uncharted Island

Prologue

California, Los Angeles County

In the evening hours, seven parents dealt with the disappearance of their children in their own unique ways.

In a drug rehab center in a rural area sixty miles from Los Angeles, a desperately depressed woman celebrated her one hundred and twentieth day of being clean by giving a fifty year old orderly oral sex in a closet in exchange for smuggled drugs.

Nelson McHugh was being comforted on his couch by his wife and daughter as he finally, after seventy long days of denial, he finally let his tears flow, his son's picture clenched tightly in his hands.

Lex and Daley Marin's parents were being told the due date on the twin children they had found out two weeks ago they were going to have.

Rex Hagen sat at his desk on the thirty fifth floor of Hagen Tower with his bare feet propped up. He had a glass of seventy year old scotch in his hand and tears in his eyes as he looked at the portrait of his daughter hanging from the wall opposite him.

Roslin McGorrill was on her cell phone, talking to , or rather, screaming at her ex-husband about her alimony check bouncing for the second time.

Kristina Wu was in a graveyard, putting flowers on her husband's grave. She was making a mental note of the fact that the tombstone still had not arrived and was dreading going home to an empty house.

Life had gone on for them, for some, more painfully than for others.

Chapter One

Drifting

Day 71: Early morning

Eric expressed his opinion of the promise of a brand new day in his own unique way, letting a long, somehow ripe sounding blast of gas escape as he stood up and took a leak over the bow of the Rosebud. Jackson shook his head in resigned, affectionate irritation as the ginger haired teens small butt moved from it's spot almost directly in front of him. He fanned the stench away as Eric collapsed in a heap on the front bench, his red shirt and blue sleep pants seeming so bizarrely out of place on a boat being sailed by seven stranded youths in the middle of the Pacific.

" You could've at least walked away from me and Lex before you did that,' Jackson complained quietly, " man, you reek, " he added, his nose wrinkling with distaste as the lingering smell faded. The smallish ten year old on the deck beside the crude captain's chair agreed, yawning as he did so. His hands reached up from time to time to finger the bright yellow bandanna around his neck, his most prized possession and a souvenir of their most recent battle for survival

" You have horrible manners." Alexander Marin said, fatigue showing in his every movement. He , Cody Jackson and the irascible Eric McGorrill had taken the late watch so the other four members of their small group could get some much needed rest. " And please, " he added in an aggrieved tone, " if you have to pee, at least point it where I don't have to try to keep from seeing it. Unlike Jackson, I'm not comfortable around you that way."

The two young men's eyes bulged at the comment. It was the first time Lex had ever made that direct a comment on Jackson and Eric's convoluted love life. Jackson strangled a laugh that threatened to erupt into the air.

_Better not laugh, he's being serious. I think he is, at least. The little guy's gotten good at deadpan humor in the last couple of months, _Jackson thought to himself, glancing at Eric, who, as always, had a comeback.

" I don't like hanging my big ol' fishing rod over the side of the boat, kid. In these waters, something might bite it off." Eric snapped back, shooting a grin at Jackson. His head seemed to visibly swell with his appreciation of his own wit.

The swelled head was effortlessly deflated by Lex's pithy comment: " They would have to be flying fish or starving to get out of the water for such a small snack."

" That's enough of that, please." Jackson broke in before the red faced Eric could explode, whether in laughter or outrage, Cody didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy a little more peace and quiet before the others arose.

A soprano voice rose quavering into the air from the pontoon like outrigging from the port side of the small vessel. Taylor Hagen's frazzled blonde mane appeared as she testily spoke, " Can we have a little quiet?! Some of us are trying to sleep and it's not easy with the waves and Eric pissing and farting and trading insults with Pee Wee." She fell back down with a thunk, her sleeping bag flying up into the air for a moment as she nestled back under it. On the other end of the same pontoon, Melissa Wu's head peeked out from her green sleeping bag. She palmed her long, mussed up hair out of her bright brown eyes as she squinted up at the rapidly brightening sky. With a yawn, she peeled the sleeping bag back and got her shoes on. She carefully climbed the tiny gap from the pontoon to the main body of the boat, looking uneasily onto the deep blue waters as she did. She cast an unusually baleful look on Lex as he told her good morning.

"I wish you hadn't told me the bottom of the ocean is almost two miles down, " she said, an undeniable green tint to her usually olive complexion, " I get all wierded out every time I think about it." He grinned at her, showing his bright, white teeth. Mel reached down and ruffled his hair as she passed him. She stumbled over and sat on the captains chair Jackson had vacated as she was climbing aboard. He walked over by her, kneeling down to softly kiss the top of her head as she hugged his hips, resting her head on his left flank as they watched the beautiful sunrise.

It was an admittedly awesome view. The dark blue and purple clouds seemed to be haloed with crimson and gold flames momentarily as the golden sun rose. With flash of light, the clouds turned white as their 70th day of survival began.

Half hour later, everyone, even Eric, was up and about. Jackson and Taylor ere in the pontoons fishing for breakfast. Daley and Lex were rearranging the supplies they had gotten from the pirate cave, a great deal of it having come from them in the first place. Mel and Eric were manning the sails and Nathan, …

He was doing exactly what he'd done since they left the little cluster of islands behind yesterday. He was doing nothing but sitting there on the front bench. He seemed to give off an almost visible miasma of sheer depressed funk. He had barely spoken to Daley in two days. He was just barely even acknowledging the presence of the others, even Jackson or Lex. And his reddened eyes bore the unmistakable signs of someone who has been crying recently. A lot.

_I wish I knew what to say to him, _Mel thought as she watched him for a few seconds as she adjusted the sails with Eric's help, _I mean, it's not exactly like Daley and I weren't forced to do some pretty graphic thing s to one another too. _Images of the red haired girls bushy mane between Mel's own legs flickered behind her eyes, as did images of her own hands and fingers plying the drug crazed flesh of the pale woman. She forced the cascading images to a stop, but it wasn't easy. _Sooner or later, we're going to have to talk about what's happened to all of us. If we don't, it's going to be like spontaneous combustion. The whole group will go up in a blaze of things we won't be able to undo, _she thought with wisdom that belied her relative lack of years. _Maybe Cody can get everyone to agree to try. God knows he's had plenty he has had to work through and he's had hideous things done to him in front of us all by now. _

More images, this time of her lover being ravished in front of her went through her mind. Jackson in a crazed sixty nine with a Subverted Eric. Him being raped by Bob Russell almost a dozen times in as many hours. She felt a tremendous throb of guilt and shame as she remembered how she had even taken part, using a sex toy of Russell's on the young man. And most recently, how he had been forced into giving the other Russell oral sex in front of all of them and a half dozen slavers as well. And he still somehow not only managed to function, he made sure everyone of them knew how very much he cared about them..

She made up her mind to speak to Jackson about it after breakfast. She was busy helping Eric give the sail a final adjustment when a sudden movement to the side caught her eye. She looked up just in time to see Nathan rip one of the two pistols they had liberated from the slavers from where it was lashed under the front bench. She heard Lex and Daley both screaming NO as Nathan stood , thumbed the safety off , put the barrel of the .44 magnum that had belonged to a special man named Little J to his head and squeezed the trigger.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Thoughts Revealed

Day 70: Morning

The gun roared and Nathan McHugh fell to the deck. With Eric McGorrill desperately trying to pull the pistol from Nathan's hand. He had succeeded in pulling the gun from Nathan's head by a fraction of a second and judging from the blood flowing freely from his head, it had been as close a call as possible. Mel dove to pull Lex out of the danger zone as Jackson vaulted onto the main body of the boat to help Eric. Daley waded into the fray as well.

His suicidal urge seemed to have given the already strong Nathan nearly superhuman power. He had actually managed to turn the gun in towards himself again when Jackson stopped him the only way he could. His left arm flashed though the air as he hit Nathan's stomach with every ounce of strength he possessed. The air whooshed from him at the impact and his grip weakened enough for Eric to pry the weapon from him. He rolled away as Jackson held Nathan down, shouting at him the whole time.

"No! Damn it Nate, that's not the way!"

" Please! Please stop this Nathan!" Daley begged, tears on her face as she held onto Nathan's arm in desperation. " I love you! I won't let you do this."

" If you love me, let me go!, " he demanded , tears on his own mahogany face, which was distorted by his wretched despair. " I can't go on like this any longer. I keep seeing it happen, over and over. Every time I close my eyes I feel that man, touching me, making me actually _want _him to do it! Begging for him to do it and , " he gulped in air, "and I wanted to do the same things to you that he was doing to me!" the admission seemed to physically break him. He went completely limp. He looked up into the sky as Jackson and Daley relaxed their grip slightly, a forlorn, hopeless look on his face, no marred by the blood coming from the painful graze on the side of his head.

He sat up and put his head between his legs as they released him. He sat there crying, his shoulders shaking. Daley knelt beside him, her arms wrapping around him as comforted the young man she had pledged he love to. She gave Jackson a look, indicating she wanted to be alone with the injured teen . After Jackson stepped up to the front of the boat, she spoke gently to Nathan.

" You're being so hard on yourself for something you didn't have a choice in. You know what Mel and I had to do was just as bad."

" I never said it wasn't, " he mumbled, head still down, some asperity showing, " but, when two girls to something like that, it can be beautiful, if it's of their on free will. When two guys do it, it's just so wrong. Especially when I never even thought about wanting to do something like that in my whole fucking life!" He raised his head up, a look of fury on it. " And the worst is, the Perversion made me want it so bad it hurt. It physically hurt to fight the impulse. And it made me want to do it to you, to share it with you. And even Mel! And I am supposed to be in love with you!' he said plaintively.

" You're not thinking right Nathan. And you're not exactly being fair. To yourself, or to me, Mel, or Eric and Jackson." she said in a reasonable voice as she took off her bandanna and began to try to staunch the not inconsiderable blood flow. " None of us asked to have the Subversion or Perversion used on us. And I'm not mad at Mel and I don't think she's mad at me. We did what we had to do to survive."

A strong streak of honesty broke past Nathan's bitter self pity long enough to force him to admit, " You have a point. I've just been raised to know that being gay or bisexual is wrong. I tried not to let that make me treat people like that badly or like they weren't basically decent people, but it's just wrong! Look at the Russell's or the other pirates. Or even Mark and his Grandad. Any type of deviancy leads to sin . That's just how I was brought up, you know that! And now, I'm a deviant too! I just want to go back to being like I was and I can't . I can't get past it; I don't know how! And even though Jackson and Eric are my friends, just knowing they care about one another like that makes part of me want to lump them in with slime like Dingo and the Russell's and I know it's wrong, but I just can't stop. And most of all, I HATE being so damn mad , all of the time." He broke off as Daley's ministrations continued.

Mel spoke to him, trying to be reassuring, but his judgmental attitude was making it more difficult than it should be, " Nathan, you've been hurt. Physically and emotionally. What happened to you, Daley, me, Eric, Cody, it shouldn't happen to anyone. Ever. But you can't let it turn you against people you because of their sexuality. How would you like it if someone tried to lump you into a group just because you're biracial?"

" I'd be pissed off. I get what you're trying to say Mel, I really do, " he replied, sounding exhausted, "but like I said, that's part of the problem. I know I'm not being fair, but I can't help it. I , I just don't know what to do!

I want to hurt someone for what happened to me. Not just for the sex part, but for making me all fucked up like this!"

Jackson broke in from his vantage point at the prow, " I know exactly hat you mean on that part Nathan. And that's why I tried to kill myself twice after the fight with Captain Russell. Not because of what happened with Mel, Eric and me. Not just because of being raped by him. But because what happened change part of me forever. I became a killer because of it. It didn't matter that it was in self defense." he had a wistful expression on is face as he spoke for the first time about that to the group at large.

" And that's why I scarred my arms, " he indicated the half dozen long, thin scars on his forearms, pale against the tanned skin, " because I felt like I wasn't good enough to live."

Nathan nodded in understanding as Daley bandaged his head. " I get that. It's how I feel about Dingo and Doctor Watson. What happened changed me. Forever. And I hate the thought of feeling this way for the rest of my life, and I don't feel like I should be alive, feeling nothing but hate."

" I felt like that too, " Jackson said, propping a knee on the side of the boat, "But when Mel and Eric kept on loving me and all of you made sure I wasn't left all alone even though it was what I wanted more than anything, I had to decide to go on or not. And it hasn't always been easy."

He put his elbow on his propped up knee, looking out at the waves while he spoke about something for the first time, " Even before this latest shit, they came to me almost every night. Dreams about Abby, Jory and Ian. Especially Abby. They ask me why I didn't save them. They tell me that I failed as the leader. That I enjoyed what Russell did. That I don't deserve Mel or Eric or even to live. That I should be dead instead of them."

Nathan was silent as he looked at Jackson. Mel put a gentle hand on Jackson's shoulder as Eric walked over to them and put his own hands on Jackson's back. Taylor was openly weeping.

" I know it's all in my own head, the guilt. I know in my mind that I did everything I could to help. That all I could've done was gotten us all killed for nothing if I had done anything differently. And I knew even then, when I was hurting myself that Mel and Eric loved me . That you, Daley, Lex and Taylor were my friends. That you would all have helped me if I had just asked. But the guilt kept it in until it as almost too late. If it hadn't been for Mel and Eric, I'd have killed myself. And I still get those thoughts sometimes."

" Sometimes, like just the night before last, the ghosts of Ian, Jory and Abby still come in the night and when they do, I wish with all my heart and soul I had died instead of them. But I didn't. Don't hate yourself for not being able to heal just yet Nathan. It takes time . And love. I know you aren't a bad guy and it's ok that you don't really get mine, Mel and Eric's relationship. Just remember that we do care. And that we love you" he gently pulled away from Mel and Eric and went over to Nathan.

He helped him up, with an assist by Daley.

He hugged his friend tight. And felt the arms of the others circling tight around them both. And in the center of it, Nathan finally realized that, like the song Jackson had once sang for them, he would not stand alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Day 70: Noon

Taylor was enjoying being the captain of the boat. A little too much, in Eric's opinion. It was like the blonde had become possessed by Captain Jack Sparrow or something, the way she was carrying on.

_Or more like Captain Jack Swallows, from __**Epic Movie.**_ He toyed briefly with the idea of saying that to her, but, the list of possible replies the razor tongued teen would probably hit him with squelched that. He lamented to himself, _If she just didn't know so much about my sex life, I'd nail her ass! _Realizing his own inadvertent double entendre, he began snickering uncontrollably.

Thereby getting the attention of the theatrically tyrannical Taylor.

" Avast there, you damned land lubber. Quit that honking or I'll have you swab the poopdeck or poop on the swab deck, or , something Really bad!" She slapped her hand on the chair arm, which was one of the plane seats from 29DWN. " I be the cap'n of this here tub and you'll do as I say or you'll swim with the fishes.." She visibly struggled to keep from laughing at her own antics.

" I'd rather walk the plank than take orders from you, Sea Biscuit . You look a lot more like a parrot than a pirate to me, Captain Quirk." he retorted gamely. He was glad that not everyone was determined to be mired in depression, like poor Nathan and Daley, who'd been talking softly for hours in one pontoon while Lex played with the laptop in the other. In a rare show of skin, Jackson was laying on one bench with his shirt off while Mel was sunbathing on the other. He turned a lusting eye on them from time to time. He heard occasional snorts and groans from the two of them to his and Taylor's byplay and he was secretly determined to escalate it until he got a real laugh from someone.

" You be a traitorous scoundrel, you village idiot.!" declared the self proclaimed captain as she got up to stretch her long legs for a moment. " And I be getting tired of it; I'd say you should be flogged, but the writing on the wall tells me , you're an expert on floggings. Just not with a whip!" She turned a dazzling smile , liberally laced with pure mischief on him.

He was trying to think of a suitable comeback when he saw something on the horizon behind Taylor. A dark smudge that clicked into his brain at the same time as his insult, merging them into the perfect zinger as he cried out:

"Ho, land! I mean, " he cheerfully corrected his "mistake", " Land Ho!"

" Who are you callin' a ho, you rat?!" she gurgled in mock outrage, honestly thinking he was still playing jokes. He pointed a long, skinny arm out past her shoulder.

" There! Don't you see that smudge on the horizon?" he asked rhetorically. Excitement building rapidly in him, he got the others attention. " Everybody get up here, I see something." It wasn't really necessary. He felt the Rosebud rock as everyone piled up near the front, straining to see the spot.

Jackson stepped up, the field glasses of the departed Jory Twist in his large hands. His chain on his neck bobbed up and down as he moved his head, trying to get the glare under control so he could see. After a moments pause, he confirmed it. " Look sharp guys, Eric's right. It's an island. Lex, " he summoned the youngest member up beside him, " are we in the right place for this to be the third island?" he and Lex were the closest they had to a map now. Richard Russell had confiscated their and they had never made a copy. Lex and he were having to do their best from memory. Fortunately, Jackson had an excellent memory and Lex's was outright scary; it was nearly photographic.

Lex double checked the compass, tied to the captains chair. He scrunched his dark complexioned face, his eyes nearly hidden under his Hartwell cap. The suspense built until finally, he confirmed it. " Yeah, it has to be it. It just took longer than I expected, because the winds have been so weak."

" That's an understatement, " Mel, the most experienced sailor by far commented, " I'd bet it hasn't gotten over three of four miles an hour since we left the cave on the last island." She looked up at Jackson, " We'll be tacking against the wind going there from here. Time for some heavy paddling from everyone." She half expected to hear moans at that.

Taylor and Eric shared mutual looks of disgust at that. In the last two plus months, they had both gotten used to hard work. But it still remained a thing to be at best endured and at all other times complained about , fussed at over or better yet, avoided at all costs. This was Not one of the times it could be avoided.

Jackson cast his ice blue eyes on the group. " Let's get to it . If I remember right, Russell's stash is almost dead center of that island and it's not much bigger than the one Mark was holed up on. I want to be able to get to it before night. How far away would you guess that is Mel?" he asked, passing the glasses over to her. He knew that as part of her sailing classes, she had had to learn how to estimate distances and he'd cheerfully admit she was better at it than he was.

" About five miles, I'd guess."' she said, ignoring the moan from Eric at the news. " If we try really hard, " she raised an eyebrow meaningfully at the two comedians of the group, "it should on take two or so hours. Maybe three, but surely no more than four. Unless the wind changes, then it may be six or seven." There was an undeniable gurgle of laughter as she gave her prophecy of gloom and doom. To her regret, no one rose to the bait. Eric patted her on the head in false sympathy.

" You gotta work on your delivery Melissa! You would have got us if you weren't so bad at lying ." He reached out and casually pinched Jackson's ass as he walked by to get to the oars in the rear of the boat. As Cody jumped , the sharp featured teen laughed, " And try to do the unexpected one in a while. I bet Cody didn't think I'd do that in broad daylight. But work on your lying especially."

" I could give you lessons." Taylor offered in a helpful voice, batting her green eyes in a mockery of a look of sweet innocence."

" I bet you could , " Mel said in her best attempt at a repressive tone. It fazed Taylor not at all. The blonde went to the oars with a palpable disgust on her face.

Jackson shook his head mournfully . " And Captain Bligh thought he had it rough with _his _crew."

*************************************************************

Two and a half hours later, they were lashing the Rosebud to the closest trees they could find on the rocky beach. They had gotten ashore without any real problems. They had decided , in light of the horrible chain of events of the past days to not risk leaving the boat unguarded this time. Only three of them would go inland while the other four stated behind , with one of the two guns and three of the four bow and arrows there for protection. The other pistol and the sole crossbow would be going with the other three.

At the moment, Lex was not particulary happy to not be going into the jungle.

" I'm not a baby Jackson. And you might need someone smaller than you to get into tight places." he was pointing out reasonably. It didn't matter to Cody Jackson ho many excellent reasons Lex gave though. He wasn't about to go haring off into the wilds with Lex again, not after what had almost happened the last time. He would kill or be killed before he ever let himself be put into a situation again where he was threatened to act against his "little brother" . Plus, he needed some alone time with the loves of his life.

He knelt down so as to be at eye level with Lex. He spoke to him as he would have someone his on age, or even older. The last thing he wanted was for Lex to felt he was being condescended to. Not when he knew that in many ways, Lex was about as mature as he himself.

" That's what I have Eric for. He's small enough to go almost everywhere you can.." He ignored the suddenly appearance of a low flying bird. " Lex, you aren't going to change my mind. I need you to stay behind. I need some time with Eric and Mel and e have to talk about some things I can't share with anyone but them. Do you understand?"

The boy gave him a look of mixed irritation and understanding." I get it Jackson, but it's just , well."

" What? C'mon, tell me Lex." he said encouragingly.

" I hate being around Nathan and Daley right now. And they need to talk and they can't because Daley keeps worrying about leaving me alone too. It's causing them some friction, even though me and Nathan get along." It as obviously not an easy admission to make.

Jackson nodded. He knew how they felt. And to be honest, Nathan was still far from his usual self. In the last few hours, he'd dropped most of the whining off, but he as still a far cry from his usual chipper self. He and Daley probably needed some alone time every bit as much as he did with Mel and Eric. But, Lex was overlooking something. Or to be more precise, someone.

" Why do you think I asked Taylor to stick around? She wanted to go swimming, but when I pointed out that would leave you all alone, she said she'd rather find something for the two of you to do together. And she said she had an idea." Jackson smiled at the ten year olds look of confusion.

" Taylor wants to do something , spend some time with me? What does she have on her mind?" he asked in mild surprise. He and Taylor got along decently, actually, better than he and Eric did.

Jackson stood up, snorting slightly as he answered, his faint Mid Western accent more pronounced than usual, " Lex, I don't know what Taylor's got going through her head. And I bet nobody else ever does either. But, " he emphasized, remembering how the last time Taylor had gotten bored, she'd came up with her own holiday, just to blow off steam, ' she's got a lot happening in it. Don't underestimate her."

" Hold me Jackson." he said .

" Huh?' Jackson replied, startled enough to take a step back. " Why?'

" I'm afraid. The idea of letting Taylor come up with something for me to do scares me! What if she wants to give me a fashion makeover or something?' And then he laughed as Jackson swatted his cap in amused affection.

" I think you can survive a few hours in her clutches, uh, her hands." he shook his head sorrowfully, a gleam in his eyes.

Shortly thereafter, he, Mel and Eric were on their way into the jungle, searching for yet another of the may lair the Russell twins had left on the deserted island chain seven youths from Los Angels were having to call home.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Hey people. Thanks for all of the positive response. I need to mention that the other story I'm working on, Jackson's Other Lives, ties in to this story, but you don't need to read it to understand this one. It'll be a later chapter here. It's just a really detailed account of something Jackson in this story doesn't remember. YET. And when he does…Tum te tum tum…

Chapter Four

Trinity

Day 70 Afternoon

The three teens walked slowly through the dense underbrush of the jungle island, hacking a very rough path in their search. Jackson was, as usual, in the lead. Mel was in the middle and Eric was, inevitably, in the rear. The heat was oppressive, the vines seemed almost alive and the mosquitoes were , in Eric's humble opinion, ginormous . One of the bugs flew by Jackson's ear making a noise that sounded like a baby helicopter. He winced and swore as the vampiric varmint drilled him. He swatted it so hard he felt his ear ringing like a bell. He heard Mel complaining about the swarm behind him as well.

" I'll need a transfusion if these mosquitoes keep this crap up! Is there any sign of a clearing or anything yet Cody?" she asked, trying to fashion her white bandanna into a type of netting around her large tan sailor style hat.

He sliced at the vines steadingly wit his machete, held in his left hand while he swatted bugs and shoved vines with his right. " I can't really see anything, but I hear something. I'm not quite certain, "he panted, sweat and damp light brown hair in his eyes, " but I think it's running water."

"With our luck, it's probably a stream full of pirannas, carnivorous clam, flesh eating leeches or fifty foot pythons, " Eric grouched as he tried in vain to cover his ears with his beloved straw hat. " Or something worse."

" All right Nathan, quut being such a cockeyed optimist all the time." Mel said. You could almost see the syrup she slathered upon her words in the humid air.

" You're getting better at that," Eric said approvingly, " you just need to put a little more panache into it, a little more sting. Try looking mean. You know, do the street rat look like Jackson does." he turned his best innocent expression on as Jackson stopped hacking and turned to glare at Eric, who pointed at him with glee. "That's it! That's the look!"

Jackson stood still, He tried his level best not to grin, but his cheek muscles betrayed him with a twitch as Mel began laughing gustily at him.

He had a slightly aggrieved look on his face as Mel went up and put an arm around hi. " Well, I guess I have a thing for street rats then."

Jackson looked down at her and then, to her and Eric's surprised eyes and ears, the big guy went " Squeek!"

Melissa punched Eric's arm and hissed, " You finally did it! You corrupted him! Are you happy now that you've ruined him for the rest of the world?'

" Damn right I am, " the slim man shot back happily, " I'm as proud as Frankenstein was of his monster."

" When are you two gonna take your comedy routine out on the road?" Jackson grumbled back, his ears red . But it was noteworthy that there was a grin on his normally somber face. But just for a moment.

" I hate to break the party up, but we'd better get moving. We're racing against sunset here."

***************************************************************

A handful of minute later, the faint sound Jackson had heard had become louder and louder. The threesome decided to go to the noise in hopes of at least escaping the mosquitoes, which were rapidly progressing from a nuisance to a genuine source of pain. Finally, Jackson saw a break in the omnipresent branches and vines. He could see the unmistakable glare of light reflecting off of water. He waded through the bushes and stopped in his tracks at the sight in front of him.

It was a waterfall. A fairly large one, as well. It poured in three distinct branches off from a roughly two hundred foot hillside. There was a huge pool of water, shallow enough that they could clearly see the bottom , seven or eight feet down. And there was a small river flowing swiftly off form it. The hills and the bottom of the waterfall gleamed with obsidian like a huge black bowl. The wind from the river gave a pleasant relief from the flying insects, who rightly feared the mist rising from the falls.

Mel touched him on the shoulder as she looked about too. " Whoa, it's like something off the Blue Lagoon or something." she whispered, feeling a strange urge to be respectful of the serene valley.

Obviously, Eric felt no such urge. " Cool, let's take a swim!"

" We can't spare the time, " Jackson said regretfully, " I want to find the cave the stuff is in and we can't be far. I just wish Russell hadn't torn up his brother's map."

" Cody, we're probably at the right spot." Mel said, a thoughtful look on her attractive Oriental face, " I mean, this has to be the center of the island and I'd bet there's a half dozen caves in plain sight." She pointed up at the hillsides.

And, to Jackson's chagrin, she as right. There were five by his count. And if his memory served, on the map, it was in a valley like this, although there had been no mention of waterfalls on the map. _Russell may have just to thought to put it down. Or they may have not been his maps in the first place; he was a thief after all. And, I reek. I can smell myself. And I even smell Mel. And I don't even want to get started about Eric; he's got more musk glands than a pack of ferrets. Poor guy._

"I give, I give. I admit it, I'm dying for a swim in something other than salt water. We'll take an hour for our selves. We don't have any towels or dry clothes so we'll have to go native," he warned, raising an eyebrow.

" And, we don't have any secrets left here!" Eric answered as he began hurriedly peeling his clothes off, " And we've seen it all before anyhow, done a lot more than just lookin' , too." he grinned salaciously as he whipped his boxer off his narrow hips, exposing his rampant erection.

" Eric, " Mel gurgled, embarrassed. And more than a little impressed, " are you , er, a little excited about something?"

He wasn't embarrassed in the slightest, " I'm buck naked. I'm about to see the two people who I love the most and who I'm the most turned in the world by naked and there's no bad guys with gun or drugs making us do anything. I'm fuckin' turned on!" He ran into the water with a shout of pure joy.

She turned to look at Jackson. Her eyes widened at what she saw. He was already nude and just as erect as Eric. He looked at her, his emotions showing on his face and in his eyes. " I feel just like he does Mel. I'm here, alone with the two people I love. The only question here is, have you made up your mind about Eric. Do you really love him like you do me or not?"

Her thoughts shattered as the question was finally put to her bluntly. Memories of how he'd humiliated her by helping announce her feelings to Jackson so long ago. Thoughts of all the caustic comments that peppered his speech. Of the horrible jokes. Of the deceitful things he'd done so frequently to her. Of how ungrateful he'd seemed, begrudgingly giving her thanks when she'd saved him from drowning.

And of the gratitude he'd shown when she had saved him fro his allergic reaction to the shellfish. Of the steadfast way he'd endured horrific , repeated rapes to help her save Jackson. Of the way fear clutched at her heart every time he had been threatened by Mark Watson. Of the courage that he'd seemed to have developed since falling in love with Jackson. And he way he still always deferred to her when it came to Cody, even now, to make sure she knew that he respected her love for Jackson even as he loved him as well. And then, she knew it .

" No."

Cody looked like crying in that instant.

She went on. " No, I don't . I don't love him like I love you. I fell for you the second I first saw you. It's grown with every single day I've been around you. With every good or bad thing that's happened. And I didn't fall in love with Eric like that."

Jackson stood silent. His eyes had the glint of barely restrained tears in them.

" I fell in love with Eric when I realized how much you meant to him. When I saw how much he wanted to change after he realized it. And he did. He started to really treat everyone like they were people. And I realized ho hard it as for him to realize you really do love us both. And then I realized that he was falling for me like I fell for you. And now, I don't want to ever want to know what it's like without either of you because any combination of just two of us is so much less than all three. No, I don't love Eric like I do you, but I love him just as much and I want to show you both exactly how I feel."

Her clothes pooled to the ground moments later. Eric came up from the water.

He stood to the left of Cody, Mel to the right. They both leaned in and began to trade kisses with Cody as well as each other. They slowly walked into the water, a loving trinity.

*I freely admit, I stole the street rat shtick from CerberAsta!


	5. Chapter 5

Dedicated to Joucelin Hades

Chapter Five

Setting Things Straight

Day 70: Two Hours earlier

Daley Marin was watching the scene on the beach unfold with a bemused expression on her slightly freckled face. _If anyone had told me back at school that my stepbrother would be playing "Blind Man's Bluff" with Taylor Hagen on a deserted island beach, I'd have thought they had been huffing paint or something. _The super cool Taylor had her green bandanna tied to her face, covering her eyes and Lex was seeing just how close he could get to her without her tagging him. So far, he'd lasted about ten minutes and Daley was surprised Taylor hadn't given up in frustration yet. _Then again, she's not quite the same Taylor who got on the plane in LA over two months ago, either. None of us are the same and we may never get back to normal._ And with that thought, she walked back over to where Nathan was putting the final touches on the tents they had set up a half hour ago, right after Jackson's trio went off into the verdant vista.

Nathan's normally bright disposition had been in abeyance since his hideous ordeal just a week earlier. He'd been given a drug, Perversion, that seemed to have one of two effects on people that used it. It made you lose all inhibitions about sex, or anything else for that matter. But it also made you become obsessed with doing one of two things: either acting out your most private, secret sexual desires, or , as was the case with Nathan, acting out your darkest fears. His had been a deep rooted fear of being raped. By a man. And that was exactly what had happened.

Daley hoped with all her heart that Doctor Watson, the Russell's and especially the Australian known only as Dingo spent the rest of eternity screaming in the pits of Hell for the carnage they had wrought in all of their lives , them and their damnable drugs.

Nathan usually had sort of light mahogany colored skin, but she noticed with alarm that he seemed to be not very much darker than her; a bad sign since she was cursed with the milky complexion that so often afflicted natural red heads and Nathan was half African American and half Italian. He also seemed to be shivering, which was definitely a reason to be concerned since it was at least 90 degrees out, even with the weak breeze blowing. She made haste to check him out.

" Are you all right? You look awful." she said.

The acid wit he'd been displaying for the last few day's stung her like a wasp's sting: " Oh, I'm fine. Just peachy keen. How do you think I feel?" he said, irritation plain on his face.

" I'm getting tired of having my head ripped off every time I try to talk to you Nathan!" she fired back, fed up with the attitude. " _**I**_ didn't do a damn thing to you. Quit making me feel like what Mel and I did was nothing compared to what you went through too!" A vision of the forced lesbian encounter under the effect of the other drug, the similar, but weaker Subversion, raced through her mind. "I admit what happened to you was horrible; it shouldn't have happened to anybody but you're not being fair."

And that finally being said, her on strength seemed to desert her. She collapsed into one of the three folding chairs they had stolen from the pirate's lair. She leaned back, trying her best not to start crying, but the tears ignored her. Moisture seeped from her aquamarine eyes.

Nathan looked over at her. He struggled visibly with the tension in his mind and body. _I'm sick of this. I'm doing the opposite of what Jackson and Eric did when the same thing happened to them. I'm not being quiet about it all, I'm obsessing over it. I'm wearing my emotions on my sleeves . And I'm about to drive away the one person here who I have no doubt loves me. It's just that I Can't get past it. And I get madder and madder because I can't. It's a vicious cycle I don't know how to break. But I have to try._

He walked over and sat on the ground beside Daley. He turned his head up to her, the bandages form where he had tried to kill himself just hours ago making a bizarre contrast against his bushy mane of red and brown hair. He put a hesitant hand on her leg and began speaking to her, the hateful sarcasm that had peppered his every word for days noticeably absent.

" I'm making a bad habit of doing this, but I'd like to apologize. I _am _taking it all out on you. And everyone else for that matter. And I wouldn't blame you for beginning to wonder what you saw in me in the first place no. I've been an asshole towards everyone, but especially towards you. And I have to stop it before I lose you and everyone else. It's just been so damn hard."

Daley reached down to gently place her hand over his, noting to herself that he seemed feverishly hot. She remained silent, letting him talk while he seemed willing to, at last. " I know it's been hard for you Nate. But I'm here with you. I ant to help you get through this, I just don't know how." And this admission, from the ordinarily self assured Daley , was not easy to make.

" I know." he answered, " I never imagined anything like the last seven weeks especially ever happening to any of us. And the first few weeks too, for that matter." He scooted over to lay his head on Daley' lap, watching the two playing on the beach for a long moment before going on. " hen we first got here, I was determined to be in charge. I would've cheerfully drowned you , " he looked up at faintly smiled at her as she pulled at an errant strand of his hair for that admission, " and in general, accomplished absolutely nothing for the first week we were here, well, except for maybe proving that the Boy Scouts don't prepare you for as much as I thought they did."

" You're being too hard on yourself, " Daley insisted gently, " and I sure wasn't any better. I was ready to have an all out war to prove I should be leader too. And you didn't resort to the tactics I did either. Like lying about the food and water." She had a troubled look on her face at the recollections.

" Hey, at least you didn't do a header off of a coconut tree! I nearly killed myself being stubborn." For a second, his face seemed normal, but then he grimaced as the more recent events forced their way back into his consciousness. " It might've been better in some ways if I had split my head open, " he muttered darkly.

Her hands went down to gently massage his back as he grew quiet." I hope you don't truly feel like that. Because that makes me feel like nothing we went through matters to you and I hope that's not how you really feel."

He inhaled slowly, then exhaled, " It does matter. I wouldn't wish this nightmare on anyone, but through it all, you've been there for me. Especially for the last few days. Do you think I've been so out of it I didn't realize tha you practically never left me alone? That was part of the problem. I so desperately wanted to be alone and I never got the chance. That drug made me want to do nothing other than have sex. Every time anyone even brushed by me, I wanted, I wanted,…" his voice broke off. He turned his head into Daley's lap as the tears started to flow, his strong shoulders shuddering with the power of the release.

Her heart told her to simply hold him, but her head and instinct told her that would not be nearly as helpful as getting him to finally tell her what as on his mind. " What Nathan? What did you want? You can tell me. I swear I'd never judge you for it. Never." She kept rubbing his shoulders as she talked. Finally, he turned his head back over and answered.

" I wanted sex. I was hard as a rock, my balls felt like they were gonna explode and all I wanted to do was have sex. No, not just sex, I wanted to use someone like I had been used. And I wanted to be used again. And I didn't care by who. That's ho bad that Perversion messed with me. I would have begged for sex with you, Mel, even Jackson if I hadn't had just enough time after the firefight and getting the stuff from their lair to get a hold of myself. Literally." He sounded ashamed, completely disgusted with himself. " You didn't think I was just sleeping the whole trip here do you? The only relief I could get was by jerking off most of the way here. And even then, it lasted maybe ten minutes before I'd get started all over again. And I was so afraid the whole time."

" Afraid of what?" she asked, no brushing at his hair, " Of being caught? If we killed people for that, Eric would have never lasted past the second week when we ere all stuck in one tent."

" No, although you do have a point. He has no shame at all. No, I was afraid that it wouldn't be enough. I wanted so bad to simply pull you down and…" he went red, unable to speak."

" And ?" she prodded.

He shot to his feet so swiftly she nearly fell out of the chair. " I wanted to fuck you Day! Is that what you wanted to hear? I wanted to fuck you, I anted to fuck Mel, Taylor, . And I even wanted Jackson or Eric to fuck me! That's how bad it's been because it's not the real me! And I just feel so dirty…"

She stood and crossed her arms as she spoke to him sternly. " Why can't you get it? Don't you see that's how they wanted you to feel Nathan! They were goddamned slavers for God's sake! They fucking mastered the art of manipulating people and making them feel like shit and I can't believe you're letting them. E all know you better than that and you have to realize that. Plus, don't you remember ho Jackson kept hurting himself after he od'd on Subversion. This stuff is stronger. It's not going to be easy, " she walked over and put her arms around him, " but you won't be alone. And it will get better."

He returned the embrace. " I know it in my head, but my body and mind don't. See?' he said, pulling back to display a very noticeable erection. " I can't trust myself, especially around you. If and when we make it for the first time, I want it to be out of love, not to get my own body back under control."

" We will. We have to try to get you better first. You have a fever still and , to be honest, you stink. We need to get someone to find us some water to ash up with. Maybe we can let off some nervous energy with a romantic walk?" she suggested, glad he seemed to finally be trying, really trying, to get under control.

He surprised her with a actual grin, " You better stay at least, oh, nine inches in front of me if we do."

" I've seen you naked, jock boy, " she joked, " A half foot is plenty of room."

He as about to come up with a suitably xrated comment of his own when Taylor's voice boomed at them from the beach. She was running at them , her sandals digging up plumes of sand in her haste.

Nathan's eyes went hard, " Something's wrong. She never runs like that for a good reason."

" Come with me quick!" the blonde panted as she stopped a few yards off, " something's wrong with Lex!"

Daley took off running, pausing long enough to ask , " What happened?"

Taylor answered as she ran: " I don't know! He collapsed, out of the blue. And he keeps talking to someone who isn't even here! And I can't understand a word of it."

The fear hit Daley hard as she left off talking and ran to see what had happened to her step brother.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Fever

Day 70: Late afternoon

Daley ran to the beach where Lex lay faster than she had ever ran in her life. Nathan, weakened by his withdrawal symptoms was barely keeping pace and Taylor was lagging behind. In fairness, she'd already been running all afternoon, trying to keep Lex occupied. Daley skidded to a stop as she came across the small form laying on the beach. She went down on her knees beside him and listened as she lay a hand on her stepbrother's face.

Her hand seemed to be scorched as she touched the hot skin of the Latino boy. _Damn. I was afraid it would be something like this; he's burning up with fever. We better get him to shelter, fast._ Suddenly, she realized he was mumbling something. Taylor had mentioned that he had been trying to talk after his collapse. A bitter flicker of amusement rose within her as she realized _she_ had no problem understanding him. She's grown up speaking Spanish, especially since a quarter of her family fit that description._ Funny how many people forget that Marin isn't an English last name, _she thought distractedly as Nathan and Taylor caught up.

" Taylor, you had me scared to death about his speaking in tongues or whatever. You've lived in Los Angeles county your whole life and you don't understand Spanish? He's talking about his dad, " she said witheringly. Forcing her irritation down, she told them, "We need to get him up to the shelter so we can try to get his fever down and figure out what caused it."

Shortly, they had ensconced the fevered child in one of the tents , by the shade of the nearby trees. Nathan had went to bring the big first aid kit up from the boat while Daley and Taylor tried to make Lex comfortable. He had finally roused after they had put his on top of his sleeping bag and Daley as beginning to question him about how he felt in order to try to narrow the possibilities down.

" Why didn't you tell anyone you were feeling nauseous all morning Lex?" his stepsister asked as she sat down beside the sweating child.

" Because I thought it was just me being nervous after Nathan tried to kill himself." he responded sharply. Realizing that, he added in a more moderate tone, " And you know I still get kind of seasick when we're in still waters. I don't know why waves don't bother me much. Plus, I just got tired of being atched after, all the time."

" You should have said something Lex, " Taylor reached over to lay a gentle hand on his arm, " I was trying to cheer you up, not run a sick kid into the dirt, " she said, shaking her head regretfully.

" What are your symptoms Lex?" Daley asked briskly.

" I'm hot, obviously, " he said with a weak smile as he mopped seat from his forehead, " but I started out cold, for most of last night, then I started to get hot. And I ache all over. Plus, I threw up right after we found the spot for the latrine."

" I wondered here you had gone off too. I was busy with Nate and the others were gearing up to leave, I should have been paying attention, but you know the rules Lex; you're not supposed to be alone in case on of those things turns up."

The boy had a grimace on his face, " I hate having to announce when I have to go. It's humiliating."

" Would you rather be eaten or humiliated?" Daley asked reasonably.

Lex flopped back and looked up at the tent's roof as he answered:" I get the point Day."

The tent's flap opened just then and Nathan slid in , the large first aid bag that they had somehow managed to hang onto the entire time in his hands. He was wringing wet with sweat and looked on the verge of collapse. His usually springy hair was almost limp.

He collapsed onto Daley's nearby sleeping bag, breathing heavily, " Here it is , " he panted, "man, I didn't realize just how bad I felt until I tried running."

" Thanks Nathan, " Daley said as she dove into the bag, getting Abby's anatomy and physiology book out along with the first aid manual. " we need to try to track down what's wrong ith Lex, like we did when Jackson got sick."

In an aggrieved tone, Lex spoke up: " It's probably the flu. All of the symptoms are about right."

" Thank you Doctor Marin, Daley reproached him gently, " You know it's never a good idea to diagnose yourself." Her eyes grew dark for a moment as memories of her dead mother flickered behind her aquamarine eyes. She had kept telling Daley and her dad it was only arthritis until the biopsies had proven conclusively it was bone cancer.

" I'm going to got up the beach and see if I see any sign of the others." Taylor announced, rising up from her spot by Lex, " I'll try to hurry them up. We need Mel; she's good at all the medical stuff." The blonde patted Lex's arm and left the tent as Daley began questioning Lex.

*************************************************************

One Hour Earlier

" It's a good thing there's no cops here or we'd all get busted for indecent exposure." Jackson said , looking at Mel and Eric, both as nude as he himself.

" You worry too much man, " Eric said drowsily. The recent activities had tired him out in a most pleasant and enjoyable way. Every inch of his body felt like it should been glowing from the lingering pleasure. He flinched slightly as Mel ran a slim, cool hand up his thigh, causing him to jerk slightly. " Dammit, I should have never told you I was ticklish." he growled.

Mel laughed , " Like Cody said, we don't have any secrets left. May as well enjoy ourselves. Everyone on this island has been expecting us to do this. And, " her voice suddenly got a dark overtone to it, " it's not like you and Cody can get one another pregnant. Or me."

Mel had told them about that when, at literally the last possible second, Jackson had pulled back long enough to mention it. She had told him hat Doctor Watson had told her as they had gathered the rare tarasia plant needed for the Subversion and Perversion drugs.

" What would be the point of taking pleasure enhancing drugs for females if you wound up pregnant? After all, no birth control is completely foolproof. Of course , the drawback is, after a large enough dosage, permanent sterility will occur, in men or women. You can't have your cake and eat it too, my dear Ms. Wu, " the monster had told her with his oh so charming smile.

_And if any three people on Earth have had more Subversion than us, especially Cody and Eric, I'd hate to meet them._

It was the simple truth. Both the men of her life had been given the drug time after time. Bob Russell had given Jackson so much that even as he was being literally raped and tortured to death, he'd begged for more pain, more sex. And Eric had gotten nearly as much. She'd been exposed twice to it as well. As they had briefly talked about it, the guys had been blunt.

"I do want kids one day, but I want you to now." had been Eric's comment.

Jackson had been both more mature and contemplative. " When we get home, we'll have to see a doctor about it. All we can do until then is love each other. We damn ell earned the right . I want kids too, but that's for another time." And with that, it had become a forgotten topic as the hormones ruled them for a glorious hour.

Mel, awed at her own daring, reached over and gently tugged at two patches of hair that weren't on the guys heads to get their attention. With a sigh, sexy new carefree Mel took a break and the old reliable Mel came to the fore.

" We need to get dressed and check the caves out."

Eric moaned, " Aww, I was hoping for one more round," sitting up to caress Mel's shoulders.

Jackson stood up, a look of regret on his face , " I kinda was myself, but she's right, We're using up daylight." He reached down and began gathering his clothes as Eric sighed in resignation.

***********************************************************

Two hours later, just as the sun was beginning to set, an excited threesome hit the beach from the edge of the jungle. They saw the tent set up off in the distance and began to head that way. It as harder than it had been earlier because they ere no each carrying not one but two backpacks. They also sported different clothes than when they had left. They had crossed nearly a third of the distance when Taylor came running at them.

" Uh oh," Eric said in alarm, " Taylor doesn't run unless something's wrong." He slid one backpack down to the white sand as the blonde rapidly approached.

_He's right about that. Shit, now what? _Jackson thought as he went up to meet the young woman as she slid to a halt in front of them. She put her hands on her knees and blurted, " We need Mel at the camp Now! Pee Wee is sick and the signs are pointing towards the flu or malaria.' She suddenly did a double take, looking at the brilliant gold and green shirt Mel had on, " Hey, I like that. Hre did it come from? For that matter, you're all wearing ne clothes. What gives, is there a store here?!" she looked hopeful.

Mel took off without a word towards the tent.

Jackson spoke as he took off at a jog, "We found Russell's stash here. We'll talk later. Let's get to Lex now."

The three took off at a feverish pace to see to the well being of the boy who was a brother to them all.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Day 71: Morning

The night had not gone very well for the survivors of Flight 29DWN. For all of Lex's youthful bravado, the boy had steadily worsened during the night. His growing inability to keep any food or water down resonated painfully with Jackson's bout with giardia , causing Jackson a good deal of worry. Unfortunately, Mel had confirmed Daley's diagnosis as well. Lex was showing virtually all of the classic symptoms of malaria. It was a virtual certainty that the many mosquito bites he had received while on the previous island were the culprit; the timing was right.

Jackson, Nathan and Taylor were gathered around the small fire Eric had built for the group a short time earlier. Daley and Mel , both tired from a night of little rest were sleeping in. Eric was stretched back out, but he wasn't sleeping. He had managed to get sunburned the day before in a place that usually didn't see sunlight and had gotten little more rest than the ones who had tended to Lex all night.

_I should be happy for small miracles, at least the cocky jerk hasn't been bragging about just __**how**__ he got sunburned . __**Yet, **_Jackson thought to himself with a ghost of a smile on his face as he heard the strident cursing coming from the tent as Eric fought to get comfortable. Turning his thoughts to more important matters, he addressed Nathan. " Are you feeling any better this morning?"

Nathan yawned and stretched his arms wide before answering, " A little. At least the constant, er, wood, " he blushed at the word, causing Taylor to put her hands over her ears in mock horror, " has finally went away. My , uh, impulses seem to be getting back under control. I still have a humongous headache though and my stomach still feel weird. Did you have the same symptoms after you overdosed on the Subversion?"

" Pretty much, " Jackson replied, the remembrance of his own painful withdrawal clouding his eyes momentarily, " My mood swings weren't as violent as yours seem to be, but Mel and Eric both said they stayed depressed for almost a week afterwards and they didn't have nearly as much as I did. Maybe Lex was right, maybe it burns the endorphins out."

When Jackson, Mel and Lex had gone through their withdrawals from Bob Russell's torture of them, Jackson had talked to Lex about the drugs and they had discussed what Ian Milbauer had told them about the origins of Subversion. Lex had made a comment on how the drugs might cause a huge release of endorphins, inducing ( and Lex had used just that word) a giant rush of pleasure, temporarily burning them out in the process. The more they and Mel had talked about it, the more reasonable it had sounded. It would make sense for the drug dealers to love a drug that not only addicted someone to pleasure but that you got to the point here you physically needed it to feel anything after a while.

"Your body should recover on it's own, as long as you don't over do it. As usual." Mel added, walking softly up behind them. She shoved Nathan with a familiarity born from over a dozen years of friendship as she nestled don onto the ground between him and Jackson.

" How's Pee Wee?" Taylor asked, offering a drink of water to Melissa as she spoke.

Mel accepted it gratefully, pausing to take a sip before replying, " He's finally asleep. The poor kid is miserable. He's burning up despite everything e do to try and cool him off. I almost wish we were back at the Hotel Tango again . At least there, we could run the old fan, at least until the kerosene for the generator held out." She passed the water bottle back to Taylor.

" No use wondering about what we can't have, " Jackson said sagely. " On the other hand, I think we have more today than we did yesterday." He let loose a rare grin full of bright, slightly irregular teeth, leaning back so his ne Avenge Sevenfold shirt and black camo pants could be admired by all. " Man, it feels weird to have boxer briefs back on after almost two months of goin' commando."

Taylor tittered, " TMI! TMI!"

Mel gave her a slightly less than friendly glance briefly as she pointed to her own clothes, a dazzlingly gold shirt with deep blue trim as well as a matching pair of Capri pants. " I can't believe he has a cave full of clothes of all things. Even shoes and boots." She indicated her own sturdy Timberland hiking boots.

Nathan cocked his head as he inquired, " Was there anything there other than clothes?"

Mel answered, " Not really. There was one box of MRE's and some flashlights. About the only other things were backpacks and winter outfits."

" Not much call for fur lined vests and gloves in the tropics. Not telling what was going through Russell's mind. We still need to make at least one more tri[ though. One of the caves may have had another cavern in it, we didn't have time to look." Jackson commented, looking up as Eric's shadow fell over the group.

The slimly built teen had a hunter green shirt thrown over his bare shoulders. His battered sunglasses were on his face. He had a new green set of board shorts on and his old beach shoes. It as obvious he was about to get in the water for a while. The beach towel in his left hand simply made it official.

" Daley's with him, " he said rapidly, forestalling the question Mel was poised to ask. " He's finally getting' some sleep, judging from the snoring."

" Planning on swimming for a while?" Taylor asked hopefully, " I hate going in alone." she was about to expand on that when a light like a billion stage lights exploding filled the sky.

"Ahh!"

" Damn I can't see anything!"

"OW! Dammit, get off my foot Eric!"

" Everyone stay still!" came Jackson's order, " Don't move or you'll risk hurting yourself or someone else."

For three long minutes, they fought to regain their sight. Eric recovered first, aided by his sunglasses.

" Oh my God, " he said in flat out terror. He hadn't sounded this scared even when Mark Watson was beating his senseless.

Jackson had been lucky, he had been sitting with his back to the beach. He was finally able to see, but it was like looking at a poorly tuned TV. "hat is it? I can't make it out."

Eric's words came out like chipped ice. " It's a mushroom cloud. My God, it's huge, even from here. What do we do Cody?" He held out a hand to the still reeling Jackson.

" We get to the strongest shelter on the island. If the radiation doesn't get us, the waves will."

" Waves?" Eric asked, confused.

" You can't put a nuke into the ocean without making a tidal wave or three. We need to go." Jackson said. He ran stumbling towards the tents where Daley was now standing , looking at the mushroom cloud in shock.

" Now!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Unfolding Events: An Interlude

Earlier that day.

The USS Seawolf, 87 nautical miles southeast of the Survivors current home.

Captain Lester Dent came rushing from the private head of his quarter so fast that he was still zipping his pant when he got to the bridge of his submarine. The claxon was still ringing as he snarled at his Xo, Lt. Commander Zachariah " Zac" Efron, an unfortunately named man , considering he was short, fat and balding, nothing like his more famous namesake.

" Zac, kill that effing noise! What's the point of having the world's quietest attack boat if the damn siren can be heard by a deaf hooker in Pearl Harbor?"

" Aye, Captain, " the tout man said, looking at the ops officer and making a slashing motion across his throat. Mercifully, the racket died down.

" Report." as Dent's one word command.

" Sonar picked up what just might be the biggest Cloverfield in the world Cap'n. I mean it Les, " he said firmly, the unusual use of the captain's nickname showing how stressed the normally somewhat retentive Efron was." I mean it, our best guess is it's over a three thousand feet long and masses almost a million tons."

" God in Heaven," Dent replied with fervor, " that's bigger than the Tokyo one and it took a direct hit from a ten megaton bomb without more than a busted nose. " He shook the shock off. " what's it's speed and heading?"

Efron looked like a man who had just seen a pig fly by and was still struggling to accept the reality of it. " You're not going to believe it, but it's doing nearly twenty four knots. As for the heading, " he pointed at a plotting screen hanging from the ceiling nearby, "it's swimming in a huge circle around this cluster of islands. " He indicated a small group of roughly a dozen islands, most little more than oversized hunks of coral. Only four, maybe five seemed to be of anything like decent islands." There's nothing there that we can tell. The islands have been uninhabited since the 1950's. There was an old station, one of the old Hotel Tango's, in the 40's and 50's, but it's just so much junk now. This is about as good of a spot as we'll ever get to hit one without unacceptable damage."

Dent snorted as he exclaimed in irony; " Considering the latest death toll from the Dirty Dozen is over a hundred and thirty million and that the Brits nuked London themselves to try to get big one number three, I'd say unacceptable may be too mild of a word." he let out a deep breath.

" Communications."

" Sir, " answered the rating at that station , trying to hide his tension at being addressed .

" Calm down sailor, " he ordered with a smile, " Get on the horn with the theater commanders. Tell them we're going to go after it with the Grand Slam."

The twenty year old communications experts skin paled at that. Even he had heard of the Grand Slam and what it was capable of.

" The Grand Slam" was the entirely appropriate name for the most powerful nuclear weapon ever put on an attack sub. It packed a hopping 60 megaton warhead. Surely, the damned thing would feel a hit from that!

Efron spoke up again, " You know captain, if I didn't know better, and I don't, I'd say big mama there may be looking for a nesting ground."

" Just what we need, a batch of baby monsters. Thanks Zac, you really know how to cheer someone up." the Captain said sourly. Then he grew harsh, " Maybe we can do some baby killing to balance out some of those things."

The comm rating spoke up: " Sir, CINCOMPAC is on the circuit. " He held up a headset for the captain.

He put it on and spoke: " Yes, Dent here."

"Dent, it's Admiral Robeson here, " came the voice of Fleet Admiral Kenneth Robeson, " you have in in the crosshairs there?"

Dent grinned as he talked to his first commanding officer from so long ago, " Yes I do Admiral. Permission to engage?"

The old war horse neighed back, " Send that overgrown crab to Satan's Bar and Grill."

" Aye aye Admiral. Dent out." The gray haired man slapped the headset don and snapped out orders.

" Helm, do a 180, get us as far from here as you can, flank speed!"

" Aye captain!." Almost instantly, you could feel the 10000 ton mass of the Seawolf accelerating madly.

"Xo, tactical, set up the shot."

Efron and the tactical officer rapidly plotted the relative positions as the weapons crew prepared to fire the cruise missile. Finally, Erfon raised his bald head up and gave the word. " Ready Captain."

" Fire!"

From the center of the ship, the vertical tube specially installed for the weapon opened and it roared from the hull. It sped up and out five miles out and three miles high. The heat seekers in the front locked onto the monumental heat signature lurking a scant two thousand feet below the surface. The missile darted through and in less than a second, a second sun shone beneath the Pacific Ocean.

The light could be seen two hundred miles away. At least six million cubic feet of water was vaporized. A bubble of boiling water nearly ten miles wide burst forth from the blast area. Thirty eight miles away, the Seawolf shook like a leaf, three hundred feet below the surface.

Towards a small island with seven lost souls on it, a wave that would still top a hundred feet when it hit flowed inevitably towards it.

On an island that would appear on no chart, the ancient woman stood unflinching as the sky lit up around her. She had been nearly blind for the last decade of her ninety years and the darkness was far more a friend than a foe. She idly rubbed the frayed cloth that was draped around her neck. The symbols for a dozen different Oceanic deities was on the material. She lowered her head and said a silent prayer before walking back up into the depths of the uncharted island's jungle that she called home.

On another island, a score of miles away, seven scared youths frantically sought shelter from the danger they knew was coming. They were blissfully unaware that a tidal wave would be the least of their worries before the next three days were over.

Three thousand feet beneath the surface, the ancient creature lay, brutally wounded, but alive. And the urge to spawn was growing by the moment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"**Some Shelter!"**

**Day 73 : Midmorning**

**Nathan McHugh walked to the edge of the cave, set in a Cliffside nearly a hundred feet off the ground and felt the familiar urge to jump swell within him. Not that he planned on doing it , of course. He'd just rather be bungee jumping without a cord than have to spend much more time cooped up in these three small rooms of the cave Russell had stashed his ill gotten gains in. Unfortunately, the blast from whatever nuclear weapon had gone off had combined with the storm season to make one absolute mother of a monsoon for the last forty hours.**

_**And thank God we got here with literally a minute to spare because that tidal wave probably drowned three fourths of this island. We'd have been goners if we'd left just a few minutes later. **_**the stout young man thought as he heard a noise behind him. He turned his head as Daley Marin walked up to put a gently solicitous hand on his right shoulder and laid her head on his left as they stood in companionable silence, looking out at the storm.**

**It had indeed been close. They had let the girls, led by Mel, grab their packs and Lex while the boys drug Rosebud, their boat, up as high as they could, securing her as best they were able before grabbing their own packs and the bedrolls. They had abandoned the tent. According to Mel, Eric and Jackson, there were even better ones in the cave, which was crammed full of hiking clothes, tents and, bizarrely, ski equipment as well. The three young men had lagged a solid five minutes behind. The sky had been jet black, filled with rolling, red tinged clouds and silver lightning had barely sufficed to light the way. And just as they had climbed up the sloping hillside directly across from the waterfall discovered earlier when a horrendous rumbling could be heard. They had dove into the cave just as an entire series of waves, ranging from forty to at least sixty five feet had came crashing through the jungle of the small island. The mess it had left behind staggered the comprehension.**

**They had just gotten their breath when Mel had informed them of a surprise. She had found a narrow hole in the all of the back cavern of the two they had known about and there was another cave in it. It was at least twice the size of the outer ones. And judging by the ancient symbols carved and painted into the walls, it had been inhabited at one point in the distant past. They had very cautiously used some of the camping tools in Russell's stash to enlarge the opening, against the advice of a claustrophobic Nathan and a openly skeptical Eric, to make the bigger chamber their main resting place. More for a desire to get away from the noise of the storm than from any fears of lingering radiation.**

" **Between the water it was under and the distance, " Jackson had declared, " if we've been exposed, we can't do much about it now. At least in here, we have at least ten feet of rock protecting us." And it seemed he as right. None of them was showing any signs of radiation poisoning, although they had plenty of sickness in the cave.**

**Lex Marin was a very sick young man. Mel had decided on giving him doxycycline, a popular ant malarial drug. Between it and the rapidly diminishing stores of aspirin, he as doing fairly well, but the trip through the jungle had taxed him to his very limits and being in a cave wasn't helping much. And Mel and Daley were almost as worn out from keeping his fever under control as Taylor was from trying to keep him entertained.**

**The faithful laptop had given up the ghost, for no. There simply hadn't been enough sunlight to charge it as well as the more vital lamps and something had to give. Taylor had taken to telling him somewhat whimsical stories of shopping sprees of seasons past. Unfortunately, her sense of exciting and Lex's didn't mesh too well. Eric had tried to tell a fee jokes to him, only to beat a fast retreat when Lex had grown nauseous. Daley had sworn to the somewhat embarrassed boy that Eric's sense of humor had effected her like that for years.**

" **You're too school for cool Daley, " he had muttered as Mel firmly led him from the invalid, an undeniable twinkle in her eye.**

**And the threesome was feeling cramped as well. Eric had been firm about having the three of them sleeping side by side. Which was fine. It was when he had declared his intention to sleep nude that an uproar had been created..**

" **I'm not gonna have nightmares after risking seeing your hairy heinie!" an outraged Taylor had screeched. " Eww!"**

" **Dude, keep it covered up, " Nathan had demanded when Eric had started to undress the first night, " I'll put 'em back on you myself if you try to take them off, " he'd threatened when Eric put his hands on his boxers with a grin.**

**Threats had rarely stopped him, especially not from someone like the normally placid Nathan. He'd dropped them without batting an eye. **

**And Nathan had resolutely walked over and tried to force them back on.**

**It had taken all four of the others to break up the immediate brawl. Both of the antagonists nerves were frayed. They were both tired and both still had severe mental issues left as legacies of repeated rapes. To be fair, Nathan had actually thought Eric was joking. Even with Lex in the other room, he hadn't assumed Eric would even want to do something like this. And to be equally fair, Eric had sworn he had only done it for shock value, but the second Nathan had touched his bare skin, the skinny teen had gone berserk.**

**And an equally stressed Nathan had responded in kind. And to make matters worse, he had accidentally punched an innocent person in the fray. Mel.**

**The fight had ended with ERIC and Daley pulling Jackson off of Nathan.**

**Things had been tense ever since. Oh, the apologies had been made. Jackson had apologized to Nathan even before he wiped the blood from his split lip off. Nathan had reciprocated, in the case of Mel with tears in his eyes. They had been friends since the first day of kindergarten , But Eric had apologized and Nathan had turned his back to him. It was only after Daley had harangued him that he finally shook hands with Eric.**

_**Wonder if anyone else has the urge to sing O Happy Day? **_**Eric thought to himself as he lay in his boxers in his sleeping bag. **_**Man, I'll be glad when the rain ends and we can get moving again. **_**He absently rubbed his left eye. It had just really started healing when Nathan had hit him squarely in it. A smirk crossed his foxlike face as he thought with an undeniable edge of satisfaction, **_**At least he has one to match.**_** And it was true. Eric's sole good punch had blackened Nathan's right eye. Of course, if it hadn't been for Cody, Nathan would have done more than reblackened his eye. He jumped slightly as a foot nudged him, none too gently. He pulled his head out from under the cover as Jackson spoke firmly to him.**

" **Get up and get dressed Eric Jeremy McGorrill. It's time to do something with this hostile energy you have." And there was an undeniable smile on his face.**

_**I may trust him with my life, but I don't trust that **_**smile**_** one little bit. Hat's he up too, **_**he thought as he reluctantly got up and got dressed . There was not point in trying to argue. Jackson as perfectly capable of dragging him out of the covers if he wanted to. " And just what are we going to do Cody John Jackson, if I'm allowed to ask?'**

" **I'm going to teach you how to fight.", was the reply.**

" **Is it going to be painful?"**

" **Probably." Another enigmatic smile on Jackson's face now.**

" **Think I'll pass. I'm allergic to pain, it hurts me."**

" **Get your skinny damn ass into the big chamber. I can't always be there to help when that attitude gets you in trouble and it's time for you to get into some shape other than a U on that sleeping bag. Besides, Lex is awake and he's bored. Maybe watching me and you scuffle will entertain him. Oh, bring our sleeping bags, Mel's too. We'll need the padding." He gave him a measuring look from his turquoise eyes, looking him up and down appraisingly. " You've got stamina now, " he blushed as he said that, causing a grin to spread on Eric's face, " Not that kind, you sex freak, I mean you can last for a while doing any type of activity."**

" **Yeah, so what? After two and a half months of roughing it, even I got in better shape. What are you planning on doing, making me exercise?"**

**He wasn't expecting the reply he got.**

" **Yes, I am. In fact, we're all going to start exercising. But, you need it worse than anyone. Even Taylor is in better overall shape than you."**

**Despite himself, Eric looked insulted, then sad. " " I'm not an athlete Cody. I didn't know that as what you wanted me to be."**

**Jackson came over and leaned in. His eyebrows raised as he talked low to the other teen, " I want one of the people I love most able to defend himself if I'm not around. And don't you want to be able to help out Mel if she needs it?"**

**Eric met Jackson's gaze, " You know I'd do anything for Mel or you. It's just, I've always sucked at anything physical. Other'n sex, of course."**

**Jackson slapped the top of Eric's bare head lightly. " And you are good at that, " he said ith a laugh, " but you'd have more self confidence f you ere in shape. And I never ant another Mark Watson beating you up without having to work for it, do you?"**

**Eric nodded assent reluctantly, " No. " he took and breath and sighed, " Let's do it."**

**Jackson spoke one lat time before leading him to the back room of the cave, " Oh, we have a bet going. Me and Lex and Mel."**

" **On what?' Eric replied, slitting his eyes at the note of glee in Cody's voice.**

" **Mel says you'll last ten minutes before you beg to stop, Lex gives you five."**

" **And what about you?"**

" **I have faith in you." Jackson said, visibly suppressing a smile, " I give it ten minutes, thirty seconds."**

**The bigger teen offed as Eric smacked his midriff hard, passing him on the way to the back.**

_**Hmm, he's stronger than I thought he was. He have a surprise or two for me, **_**Jackson thought as he rubbed his stomach briefly before following Eric.**

**Outside, the rain as slowly beginning to slacken as the day wore on. The seven went about their business.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Working Out, Getting Out**

**Day 74 Midday**

"**OWW!" cried Eric as he crashed onto the double stacked sleeping bags for the third time in as many minutes. His shaggy cinnamon colored hair was damp and dangling in front of his slitted hazel eyes as he glared up at his tormentor. Jackson was shaking his head at him even as he offered a hand up which Eric hesitated for a moment about taking.**

" **Don't you trust me anymore?" he asked Eric, a wry smile plying his handsome face as he pulled him to his feet. **

" **I trust you to throw my ass all around this cave." Eric sighed back, rubbing his narrow posterior as he spoke. " Man, I've been punched, flipped and basically pounded on by you for an hour now. You take me down in barely a minute each time. What's the point? We both know I just can't take you in a fair fight."**

" **The point is you're more capable than you think you are." Jackson said, some asperity in his voice. " You've improved some already. Before, I had you down in a half minute with no problem. The last two times, I actually had to work for it. It's this lack of self confidence that's pissing me off. It's not like you." He stood there with his long arms crossed over his chest, the sweat on his on neck showing that he had indeed been straining to fight the smaller teen.**

" **Cody, I,…" he faltered, obviously wanting to say more, but unable to.**

" **What, what's got you so tongue tied? And are you finally going to tell me just why the idea of getting in shape seems to be one of the few things you seem genuinely frightened of. So what is it?" he waited for an answer.**

**Eric drew in a breath and was about to speak when they ere both startled by Daley's voice calling out to them.**

" **Hey guys, we're ready to go downhill for a few minutes if the two of you are done working out. Mel said she'd stay with Lex." her head popped in the gap in the chambers as they stood there. " Are you coming or not?' she inquired impatiently. This would be the first foray out of the cave since the blast of four days ago and "cabin fever" had definitely been taking it's toll on them all.**

**Cody as actually slightly irritated at the interruption. He was looking forward to getting out of the cave for a while himself, but this was one mystery he had wondered about since before his relationship with Eric had even begun. The slenderly built young man had plenty of energy for pranks and mischief, but he seemed firmly convinced that he was not good at, or even interested in sports or exercise, or anything physical, other than sex, and swimming, Jackson suddenly thought. **_**That's about the one thing he really enjoys other than sex and bad jokes. And I think I remember him saying the only reason his parents even had a pool was so he'd stay in it and leave them alone. Something's odd here. Maybe Mel can figure it out. They were fairly close back home; she has at least been to his house a few times since his dad and hers were golf buds. She even knew about his pet iguanas. Damn, I wish Daley would have waited just two more minutes.**_

" **Are you going to keep standing there or are we gonna go?" Eric asked as he hurriedly changed shirts, briefly exposing his chest as he pulled his gray tee on, invariably followed by his blue button up with the Oriental trim on it.**

" **I'll catch up . Go on ahead." he answered. As his friend turned and left, he looked after him with troubled eyes.**

_**I'm probably going to regret my curiosity, but I need to sort this out, **_**he thought. He reached into his new backpack and drew out a comfortable black mesh shirt and started to change. As he did, one of the symbols on the wall, the one for Tagaloa-savali caught his eye. For a split second, an immense wave of déjà vu coursed through him. And even his vision seemed effected as he saw seven of everything. But then, the moment passed, almost too swiftly to really register.**

_**Damn, I must be more tired than I though. I'll be hearing voices next…**_

**The tall young man slid gracefully from the now empty cave.**

**For an instant, the symbol on the wall seemed to glow.***********************************************************

" **It's like somebody turned a dozen bulldozers loose side by side and let 'em run wild, " Eric said five minutes later as the group paused on a small cliff, about 20 yards from the jungle floor. " I bet there's not three trees left standing in sight."**

**And after a fifteen minute walk , slogging through the mess, no one seemed inclined to argue with Eric's assessment. The waterfall and the river were both finally running clear but there was still an enormous amount of drift on the currents. Dead trees, birds and other flotsam flowed along the banks as they crosses over to the other side. Fortunately, enough boulders were still in place for them to get over easily. After nearly an hour of going slowly through the mess, they arrived on the beach, near here they had first set up camp.**

" **Look!" Nathan cried out, flinging an outstretched arm towards the cove they had abandoned the tents and boat in.**

**Miracle of miracles, the Rosebud was there. One of her pylons had been nearly ripped off and the benches were bent and warped, but she looked like she could be repaired easily enough. One of the tents was hopelessly wrapped around the fifteen foot high stub of a tree the boat had been tied to, the other was nowhere to be seen.**

" **At least we still have the boat and we have even better tents in the cave." Daley pointed out. " And most of the boat's damage seems superficial."**

" **I want Lex to take a look at Rosebud before we touch her, " Jackson said adamantly. " He knows her better than anyone, even me. I do not," **he emphasized. " want to risk getting her on the water and find out I overlooked something Lex would've spotted."

" He's got a point Day," Nathan agreed, " he designed it, he'll know any weak spots on her."

" And he's feeling better. It'd be good for him to feel needed, " Taylor observed, " besides, he's going stir crazy in that cave." She shook her head as she circled around, looking at the devastation all around them. " Man, we're lucky to be alive after that."

Eric snorted, " I keep telling you people, I'm a charmed guy. If I hadn't been here, you guys would've wound up in Captain Nemo's locker."

" Jones." Daley corrected him.

" Huh?" was the less than succinct reply.

" It's Davy Jones's locker. Captain Nemo had the Nautilus."

" Mere details, " he said arrogantly, " just be glad my infallible good luck saved you all. It's a service I gladly perform, even though I never get any of the credit," he was obviously about to go into one of his monologues about the misfortune of being Eric when a familiar cough stopped him.

Jackson cleared his throat loudly, " Get over yourself " Lucky" McGorrill. And since you're so lucky, you get a prize."

" And what would that be Chief?" he asked warily.

Jackson walked over and put an arm around him casually, the ease of which belied their usual effort to limit the contact in front of Nathan, and pointed to the boat. " See that?'

" Yeah."

" You and me, we're going to get it and move it about a fifty yards. Just the two of us. You need the exercise. Still feeling lucky ?"

Eric reply could have blistered steel. But the boat got moved .

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY FOR THE DELAYS. I WANTED TO FINISH JACKSON'S OTHER LIVES BEFORE I RESUMED THIS STORY. I'M GOING TO CONCENTRATE ON THIS STORY UNTIL IT'S DONE. THANKS TO ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS. I CHECKED THE TOTALS AND ON THE FOUR MAIN STORIES I HAVE, INCLUDING THIS ONE, I HAVE OVER SEVENTY REVIEWS AND NEARLY** 4000** HITS. I AM IN AWE AND I APPRECIATE YOU PEOPLE SO VERY VERY MUCH.

MATT.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Day 77 Early Afternoon

It had taken three days of almost constant labor, but they ere finally getting prepared to leave . The valiant little boat whimsically named Rosebud had been refitted, refloated and declared seaworthy by Lex, or Little Caesar as Eric had started calling their youthful taskmaster, He had finally stopped that when Lex had innocently inquired which Caesar he reminded Eric of since there had been so many. Eric had bade a hasty retreat after that.

The sky still somehow felt funny. The sunrises and sunsets had been breathtaking, but there was definitely a strange vibe in the air. It was Nathan who finally pointed out what was missing.

" There's no birds. I haven't seen or heard a bird since the day of the nuke." he had pointed out. In retrospect, it was odd that none of them, not even Lex, had noticed it.

Of course, Lex had been and to be honest, still was under the weather. He was insistent on being up and moving, but it as still hard for the ten year old to do very much. He's been virtually glued to the Rosebud on Jackson's orders, ostensibly to help check for any missed details, but really to keep him in plain sight .

Currently, Taylor and Mel were involved in gathering the laundry in and putting it on the boat while the boys were off on a mass fishing expedition for supper. Daley was getting some desperately needed rest from tending Lex as well as tending to Nathan, ho had been steadily improving, but was still far from the innocent, carefree Nathan McHugh of old. And now that they were all alone, Mel decided it was time for some isssues to be resolved between her and Taylor.

" Thank you, " she said as Taylor handed her freshly dried clothes to her, " it's so nice finally having something other than the same six outfits to wear."

she said with a smile as Taylor sat on the bench behind her. She turned to look at the blonde haired teenager as she continued to fold Eric and Jackson's clothes. It still seemed slightly odd to see Taylor doing menial labor. _I'm not being fair to her, _Mel thought to herself with annoyance, _and I shouldn't be jealous; if anything, she should be. I have two boyfriends to her none. Man, that would have never happened at Hartwell._

She gathered her resolve and finally opened up with the question she most needed to have answered. " So, are you still attracted to Jackson?"

Taylor had a deer in the headlights expression as she hastily answered, " Uh, have I done something again? Go ahead and tell me no, Melissa. I really don't want it to go down like it did the last time we had a talk like this."

Mel conceded to herself that Taylor had a good point. Nearly two months ago, she had seen a weakened by giuardia Jackson resting his head on Taylor's shoulders. Then, Taylor had gotten him to sing at the Chilloween party. The ability of Taylor to get him to open up when she had tried for weeks had ate at her like acid. And she had lashed out at Taylor. It had also been a very real part of why she had went with Eric, Abby and Jackson to the Hotel Tango. To try to work on her relationship with Jackson without Taylor around.

" I don't either Taylor, " she confessed, " it's just that lately you've , well, I'll just say it, flirty with Cody. And, I'll admit, it bothers me a little."

Taylor reddened slightly as she folded the clothes with unnecessary force, " I'd be insulted by that comment if I were Jackson. It really doesn't show an immense amount of faith."

Mel stood up and fired back heatedly: " I do have faith in Cody. And in Eric too, but I may have forgiven you a while ago for flirting with him then, it's different now Taylor. I'm in a really complex relationship and the last thing I need is having to worry about you again!"

" That's not fair Mel! Jackson and Lex have been the only two people here, ell, maybe Eric, who ever treat me like I can contribute anything. Cody is my friend and that's all! And if you ere really a friend to me, you'd realize that!"

And ith that said, Taylor jumped don and angrily stalked off towards the remnants of a treeline, leaving behind a very surprised and somewhat embarrassed Melissa Wu.

_Damn. She's right. I got so obsessed over not losing Cody to her that I never thought about how isolated she is. Nathan and Daley stay so wrapped up in themselves, plus she and Daley still don't get along just perfectly. And with everything happening on a daily basis with me, Cody and Eric, she's been left with just Lex, and he's just a little boy . She's as lonely as Eric was before we three came together. And I got jealous over her trying to joke with a friend. I've hurt a lonely soul because I was insecure and jealous. Now how do I fix this mess I've made? _she wondered as she watched Taylor disappear into the jungle. She slowly got up and decided to follow her.**********************************************************

The four males of the group were having a decent enough time fishing. They had wandered about half mile up the beach, nearly a fifth of the ay around the entire island. The fish had , fortunately, been biting . Eric had summed his feelings up succinctly, " I hate catchin' em, but I love eating 'em." He had actually caught the second most of the fist, edging out Nathan by a single fish. Lex, still under par, had only caught two worth keeping.

Jackson, on the other hand, had caught a whopping six . Between them, they had a record setting sixteen fish. With the MRE's supplementing them, they would eat well tonight and hopefully be rested up for the voyage tomorrow.

Jackson lamented, " I hate not having any fruit to take on the trip, but I'm leery of eating anything that was exposed to the rain after the blast."

" That's probably a good idea Jackson, " Lex added his opinion, struggling slightly to keep pace with the older and larger teens. Although he'd dramatically improved in the last day and a half, he was still definitely on the pale side. His brown eyes seemed to have been burned into his small face.

" Having problem's keeping up Genius?" Eric asked from behind Lex as he watched the youth stumbled for the third time in less than two minutes. Before Lex could speak, Eric had reached out and casually snagged the backpack half filled with water bottles that Lex had insisted on carrying. He slung it over a shoulder as they walked on.

Nathan was bringing up the rear of the group. He and Eric had been painstakingly polite to one another and had even unbent to the point of trading a couple of mild insults back and forth. But while he had improved, he looked almost as worn out as Lex did. Even his hair seemed less springy than usual. It may have been because of the low energy and the perpetual distractedness that he had been in for over a week now that he didn't hear the faint scrabbling noise on the rocks behind him as a very familiar shape lunged from the cover of a nearby boulder, knocking him to the earth painfully.

"Help!", that was all he had time to cry out as he spun on the ground desperately, pulling his machete out of it's scabbard and frantically trying to slash the monster with it as it bit at him, it's claws tearing into his bare forearms.

" Lex, get away from there!" Eric screamed in the startled boy's ear. The shock of the attack had rooted him to the spot. Eric grabbed his shoulder and slung his in the opposite direction as Jackson rushed up, his bow and arrow in his hand. To Eric surprise, he handed it to him as he pulled his own machete out.

" I'm going in! Cover me and shoot the fucker if you get a chance!" He jumped in and unleashed a huge slash at the beast's back, slicing a deep gash in the gray skinned entity.

With a hideous squeal of pain, the vaguely lobster like monster leaped at Jackson. He was almost too slow to dodge; it's mid torso claws scratched deep into his left flank, causing him to drop to one knee. The monster took a step back, then tensed to charge just as Nathan unleashed an attack of his on, his blade nearly severing the monster's back left leg. Nathan drew back to attack again hen a second monster seemed to appear from out of nowhere. It was smaller than the other, probably only around fifty or so pounds to the others hundred plus, but if anything, it's attack as more vicious. It flung itself on Nathan's back. He spun like a top, trying to dislodge the thing when Eric's voice roared with a commanding timber in it Nathan would never have expected from his long time classmate.

" HOLD STILL NATHAN!"

Fighting the instinct to do anything but that, for one sole second he did.

And then two screams, one human, one not , were heard as Eric pulled the sixty pound draw back and sent an arrow dead into the center of the monster.

And it passed through the monster and into Nathan's back, even as Jackson cleaved the head off of the larger creature.

The bow fell from Eric's hands as the two forms fell to the ground


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Day 77 Mid Afternoon

_Now where could she have gotten to this fast? I wasn't that far behind her, _Melissa wondered to herself, stopping to look around for Taylor. She had gone into the battered remains of the tsunami soaked jungle a scant two minutes before Mel. It didn't seem possible for her to have simply disappeared like this. Mel walked around a slight bend in the trail and breathed a sigh of relief. There was Taylor, with a shoe off, banging it against a tree trunk.

" Get outta there!" she was saying as she slammed the offending shoe against the tree over and over. She was so startled by Mel's clearing her throat behind her to gain her attention that the shoe slipped and went flying fifteen feet away. "You didn't have to sneak up on me like that, " she said accusingly as she limped over to go after her slung shoe.

" Here, let me get it, " Mel walked over and picked the blue and white shoe up as Taylor stumbled forward over the tangles of fallen branches and weeds. "Here you go, " she said as she straightened up and offered the shoe back, " what was wrong with it?" she asked.

"It had ants in it. Or something like ants. God, I wish I had a dollar for every bug bite I've had in the last two and a half months; I'd be richer than Daddy, " she said ruefully, referring to her father, land tycoon Rex Hagen. " Thank you, " she added, only slightly reluctantly. She looked uncertainly at Mel for a moment before asking with her customary bluntness, " Are you going to lecture me on flirting some more or do I get it in installments?" There was an undeniable edge of sarcasm in her voice and the hurt was there as well.

" I'm sorry Taylor. I overreacted and I admit it. I got jealous and took it out on you." she stated plainly. Taylor returned the look Mel gave her with mild uncertainty. _I can't blame her for that. I'd be hesitant to believe an apology this quickly too, _Mel admitted to herself. " Honestly Taylor, I didn't have any right to come down on you like that. I'm truly sorry."

Taylor visibly relaxed, " I accept your apology Mel. But. Will you promise to at least try to give me the benefit of the doubt from here on out? We've done this dance a couple of times now and I'm tired of it." There was a sort of resigned expression on her face as she said her piece. " All Jackson and I will ever be is friends. That's all I want from him."

" I understand. I really didn't realize just how isolated you've been with everyone in relationships but you and Lex." Mel observed. " And it's not like you can hang out with a ten year old all the time."

" You got that right, " Taylor said with a grin, " especially not when he's wanting to explain the mysteries of the universe to you all the time! I love Lex, but he's so intense about wanting to know everything or explain it all. The little genius," she smiled at the fond memories.

" Well, " Mel said , " maybe you and I can find a few things to do together. Especially since Cody's determined to put Eric through boot camp lately, " she shook her head at the apparent folly of her to boyfriends. " I don't know why he's so obsessed about it."

Taylor had a thoughtful look on her face as she voiced her opinion: " I think it's about Eric's self image. Just before Chilloween, " she grinned at the mention of the holiday she had created, albeit with mixed results, " he gave me a pep talk about being myself that really stuck with me. I like Eric a lot, much more than I did back at school, but he still has pretty poor self esteem sometimes."

" I know, " Mel agreed readily, " and nothing Cody or I say or do seems to keep his esteem up for long. Of course, you remember what his home life was like. His parents have fought for as long as I can remember. His dad's all right most of the time, but his mom.".

" Oh, I know all about Roslin McGorrill, " Taylor said quickly, " remember, she told the entire cheerleading squad off last year when she was one of our sponsors. She said our cheers were as original as the seventy year old jokes her husband told and that we had the talent of freshly killed zombies. And it didn't help any when she lead the movement to get Miss Flanders fired. And succeeded."

" Oh my God, I'd forgotten about that." Mel said, some of the mystery about Eric suddenly evaporating.

Emily Flanders had been one of the prize catches of the Hartwell Academy. She was 29 years old, a graduate of Radcliff College, a two time nationally ranked tennis player, a superb biology teacher, one of the coaches of the cheerleading team, and, a very closeted lesbian. Until she had met the love of her life four months after starting at Hartwell. The woman she'd met had finally convinced her it was better to be herself in public than to hide her true self and the results for the woman had been horrendous. Within three days, a group of concerned parents had been protesting at the school. And leading the charge had been Roslin McGorrill. And with her far more vicious version of the sense of humor that characterized her husband and son.

" She's here, she's queer and we don't want her near!" had been the most polite of the slogans she'd used in her battle to have the unfortunate woman dismissed. She and a fortunately small number of truly intolerant parents had succeeded in the effort, not because the school had folded to the pressure but because Emily Flanders elderly mother had a stroke during her visit to her daughter's apartment. About ten minutes after a mystery caller, sounding very much like Mrs. McGorrill had called, haranguing the seventy year old woman about her daughter's lifestyle. The pair had left within a week for their hometown in upper Michigan.

To say Eric's mother would not have liked his current lifestyle was like saying that rabid dogs didn't like the attention of small children.

Over the next few minutes, Melissa explained her sudden epiphany to a wide eyed Taylor.

" That woman would make life hell on earth for him, ' Taylor agreed with certainty, " even my and Nathan's parents didn't want Miss Flanders to be fired and you know ho conservative in most ways the McHugh are. They grounded Nathan ehen he used his birthday money to buy a pair of leather pants!" she sounded almost as outraged at that as she had when Mel had told her suspicions to her about Eric's probable homecoming from his mother.

The two of them had been steadily wandering back towards the beach while they had been having their talk when Taylor suddenly stopped and held up a hand in alarm.

" Do you hear Eric yelling?", she asked, tilting her head in an effort to determine the source of the faint noise."

Mel listened for a second, then pointed at a form rapidly approaching from the far side of the beach. It was Eric and he as running as though his life depended on it.

_His life or some one else's, _Mel thought as she realized none of the other three boys were coming from around the bend in the cove after the rapidly approaching Eric. " Come on, something must have happened!' The two young women ran to meet Eric.

" Help! We need help for Nathan! He's been hurt, Jackson's, taken a hit too and I had to leave Lex with them because he's still not well enough to run far, " he let the words out in a torrent as he doubled over and clutched his knees, panting like his chest would explode. " We need the first aid kit from the boat and I need the two of you to help me get them here."

" I'll go get the kit, " Taylor offered, turning toward the Rosebud, three hundred feet away. She ran off.

" Eric, take a breath and tell me what's happened ?" Mel commanded gently as she helped the out of breath teen straighten up, fear in her contralto voice.

" We got jumped by two of the parasite things. One was big, like Saint Bernard size. Cody n Nate got it, but then a little one jumped on Nate's back. I had Jackson's bow so I had Nathan hold still long enough for me to shoot it, but I as too damn close. The arrow went all the way through the thong and it's in Nathan too. And if he dies, it's all my fault!" His face was a study in torment as he admitted his fear aloud.

" Don't say that baby, " Mel said, quickly putting a supporting arm around Eric, who had tears coursing don his narrow face, " we're not going to lose anyone if I can help it.' She broke off as Taylor came back up with the first aid kit they had on the Rosebud.

" I got it, ' the tanned blonde said, " let's get moving."

The three of them took off at a run to where Jackson, Nathan and Lex were.

In just a few minutes, they came upon the hideous sight. Jackson was on his knees on one side, Lex on the other of where Nathan was laying on his face with the foul creature's corpse connected to him by the arrow . Nathan was being remarkable quiet, all things considered, but the pain on his face as blindingly obvious. He was taking quick, shallow breaths as Jackson and Lex tried to speak reassuringly to him .

It was the youngest of them who took the lead in comforting as Jackson got up, yielding his place to Mel. Eric stood slightly off to the side, obviously still in shock over his part in the events. Taylor went bravely over to Nathan, aiding Lex as Mel was quickly updated by Jackson.

He was pale faced and trembling as he spoke to her, his gaze constantly shifting from her to Nathan as he did. " I knew better than to pull the arrow out and risk letting him bleed out. I'd say at least an inch and a half is in his left shoulder though. Thank God Eric's not a perfect shot. If he'd hit it just six inches to the right or six inches lower, he'd have punctured a lung or maybe gotten his spine. He got the dam thing's head. It died as soon as it hit."

" I 'm just glad no one got bit. No one could have saved him then." Mel said, and she meant it. According to all of the radio reports they had heard while prisoners of Captain Russell nearly two months ago had been constant about that. Once the monsters bit you, in anyplace other than a hand or foot , you were going to die, period. And if you were bitten in an appendage, if it wasn't removed in less than a minute, it as fatal there as well. " Eric said you were hurt, where?"

He turned so she could see here the things claws had ripped the waistband of the pants and torn down nearly to his buttock. Blood seeped from the deep scratches, but it looked like all it needed as a good cleaning and a bandage. " Taylor?" she called out.

" Yeah, " she answered from Nathan's side.

" I need you to help bandage Cody's leg up for him, quick. I'm going to need his and Eric's help in a minute and I don't need him distracted by an open wound. Lex, " she turned her attention to the small child.

" Yes?"

" Lex, you have the smallest hands and you're the lightest of us. I need you to use one of the knives to cut the arrow where it's connecting Nathan to that thing. I'm not sure Cody can stay leaned over for long without his hurt leg giving out and Eric will have to be holding that thing's weight while you cut."

" Ok."

" Eric, " she waved a hand at him, summoning him back over. " I know you're scared and mad at yourself, " she murmured , " but I need your help. So does Nathan. Ok?"

' All right." he replied, his check twitching from the tension on his face as Mel got the two of them started.

It was a tiresome half hour that passed like a half dozen months. Eric and Lex succeeded in getting the beast separated from Nathan. That was actually the easy part. The hard part had been when a freshly bandaged Jackson, looking bizarre standing there in his boxers, his pants having been shredded, had to help her pull the arrow out . With a trembling Eric and an openly crying Taylor having to put their combined weight down to keep Nathan from bucking in pain. Fortunately for him, he'd blacked out from the monumental pain as the arrowhead was slowly torn from his flesh. It had bled a great deal, although not as badly as Mel had feared. Finally , she had Eric, Taylor and Lex go to gather Daley as well as the supplies to improvise a stretcher for the injured young man as she and Jackson stayed behind to watch him.

Mel was still putting bandages on Nathan, who was now painfully conscious . Jackson was standing guard, his machete in his hand as her scanned the area around them with his eyes.

" Am I gonna live Mel?, " Nathan grated as pain ground down on him.

" Of course. You'll have to have your arm in a sling for a while though. You had some punctured muscles and it'll probably a month or two before you can really use you back for much."

" Great, I finally start to finish withdrawing from drugs just on time to nearly be a monster snack and target practice for Eric."

" He didn't mean to do it man, " Jackson replied, considerable heat in his voice , " he was trying to save your life."

" I fucking well know that Cody Jackson," Nathan snarled back, the pain making him even more quick tempered than he'd been the last week, " Dammit, I'd be dead if he hadn't . And I'd gladly thank him if I didn't hurt so fucking bad."

" Both of quit with this stupid shit right fucking now!" Mel commanded harshly. " There's no sense in the constant fucking drama . All we can do right now is try to get the hell away from this place." She turned a frustrated look upon both of them, one her lover, the other her oldest friend.

" You're right, sorry to be so defensive about Eric , man." Jackson said, relenting first.

" Dude, I'm just hurting right now. And I am glad I'm hurt and not dead. How's your leg." he asked, wincing from his pain as he did.

" Hurts like hell, but I don't think it's all that bad. My pants got the worst end of the deal,"

Despite himself, Nathan actually smiled at the astringent tone of Jackson' s comment. He looked over at the odd sight of the normally fully clothed Jackson standing there in a green shirt with red boxer briefs on, showing his legs and the bandages off. " You look goofy."

" I feel goofy, but at least if a boat full of hot Asian chicks crashes here, I'll be the first one rescued, ' Jackson grinned back at him, wincing himself as Mel slapped his shoulder with a smile.

" You only get one Asian chick in your life at a time.' she told him firmly.

" And with one of them and one Irish American guy like Eric, you've got plenty." Nathan commented as they continued to wait for the others to come back.


	13. Chapter 13

THANKS JOUCE, SUGAR144 AND ANGEL OF VENGENCE8 FOR THE REVIEWS. GOOD PEOPLE.

Chapter Thirteen

Another Leavetaking , Another Monster

Day 78: Mid Morning

The faithful Rosebud was being steadily pushed out onto the water by the combined efforts of Jackson, Eric, Daley and Taylor. Melissa was on board, being aided on the sail by Lex while Nathan lay uncomfortably on his stomach on the bench, covered by the sunshade they had erected earlier. The four of them got the boat out in three feet deep water, about sixty feet from shore, then began climbing up. Jackson offered a hand up to Daley while Eric first helped Mel up, then was in turn offered a arm by Jackson. Taylor, ho had received a helping hand from Mel, went over to the port pontoon to put some shorts on while Daley , naturally enough, went over to check on Nathan.

She had been scared out of her mind when Taylor and Eric had rushed to the cave with the news about Nathan. And on the hurried flight to the beach, Eric had had no choice but to tell her what had occurred. He had no left his part out. He had fully expected Daley to be furious at him for his role in Nathan's latest ordeal, but far from castigating him over it , as soon as she had seen for herself that Nathan's life was in no immediate danger, she'd ripped a strip off of her boyfriend.

" Are you having flashbacks to grade school or what you idiot? When a person saves your life, you say thank you. You don't complain if you get hurt in the process as long as you come out alive." She would have gone on in a similar vein if Nathan hadn't swiftly turned to Eric.

" Dude, I'm sorry for my temper. I do appreciate what you did. And it's not your fault I got hurt. If I had been paying a little better attention, I might not have gotten attacked. Anyhow, you were busy saving my life at the time." And with that said, the wind had been taken out of Daley's rampage. But, she still blamed herself for not having been there.

She sat beside Nathan, talking to him: " I still wish I had went fishing with you guys instead of deciding we had to have one more run through the boxes in the cave. I might have been able to have helped." She toyed with the ends of her luxuriant red hair as she talked to him.

Nathan wasn't having any of her self recriminations however, " If you hadn't ,we wouldn't have found the radio , " he pointed out . And it was true. Daley's insistence on checking every nook and cranny of the cave may have been somewhat irritating at times, but it had paid off this time. They had found a fairly old Walkman radio. While they hadn't been able to pick up anything but a single am channel, it had proven worth it's weight in gold simply for any news of the rest of the world.

Despite needing to pack, in light of Jackson's prudent decision to get off the infested island as soon as humanly possible, they had sat near the edge of the cave far into the night as the intermittent signal faded in and out. For one glorious twenty minute stretch, they had picked up the news from a station in Guam. It had been far from reassuring.

The death toll from the monster's daily attacks no stood at one hundred and seventy million world wide. New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Taiwan. All of those cities had been virtually destroyed. Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Buenos Aires , Santiago and Perth had been nearly emptied of life as well. Tasmania, Madagascar, Okinawa and Corsica had become little more than feeding grounds for the creatures. And that, believe it or not, was the more normal of the news reports.

They had listened in disbelief as reports of mysterious lights, unnatural weather patterns and disappearances had been discussed. And there were reports of every type of supernatural activity from the run of the mill Mothman and Sasquatch sightings to one confused sounding woman in Norway who swore she had seen the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost itself, the mythical appear in the pasture behind her house. It seemed like the world had gone mad.

" Either that or they're giving out drugs free on every street corner." had been Eric's skeptical take on the whole matter.

Jackson wasn't quite as skeptical as Eric. For some reason, he'd been having the oddest flashes of half remembered dreams ever since the first night on the island they had just left. Little flash of déjà vu and the virtual certainly that something, he didn't know what, was about to happen. And even if none of the others said anything, he knew their sleep wasn't untroubled. He had been the last one up for three nights in a row and he'd heard each of them mumbling in their sleep. It ranged from the more prurient mumblings of Eric to the oddly endearing sing song way Lex spoke in his sleep, frequently in his native Spanish. But he had seen it out of each and every one of them.

_It's probably just the stress, _Jackson thought to himself as he sat silently beside Mel and Eric as they slowly made their way to the open water. Unlike their arrival, the current was with them on their way out. _Considering the multiple beatings, rapes and enforced dug use, plus the attacks from the little monsters, it's a miracle any of us have any sense left at all. Of course, in this crowd that's a relative term, _he thought as Eric gave this island the same goodbye he had the last one dropping trou and cheerful blasting away at it.

" And that's my feelings about this lovely piece of real estate, " he was expanding on his thoughts as he raised his pants to the relief of them all.

" What's that? " Taylor said, confusion in her voice as she pointed to a ara of water between them and the isle, now nearly a mile away .

" What is is Taylor, "Eric asked, walking over to the side by the pylon she was on, " I don't see anything?"

Lex walked to the back of the boat, the field glasses in his hand. He jumped over by Taylor and stood in front of her." Put your hands on my shoulders and point me at what you see." She put her hands on his shoulders and maneuvered him into the right direction.

" See where the water is swelling?' she asked, " What would make it do that?'

And then the answer revealed itself as at last, the caught sight of the source of the small monster attacks they had suffered through. The water seemed to explode as the largest monster on the planet raised itself up out of the water, unleashing a roar that all but deafened the seven of them. By the grace of God, it had it's gargantuan back to them.

_And even if it saw us, this whole boat would rattle in that thing's mouth, _was Jackson's awed thought as the leviathan strode over to the island. It had thirty foot waves rippling in it's passing. And the waves from here it had breached the surface were just moments away from impact. " Everyone, get a grip on something! Lex, Taylor, get down."

Even in the deep ater they had just sailed into, the waves bounced them up and don like a cork for long, agonizing moments. Injured Nathan was knocked hard to the deck but received no further injuries. Mel looked wobbly and Eric and Lex both were practically green, but everyone else seemed ok.

They watched quietly as the behemoth disappeared from sight on the far side of the island. Apparently, it had come ashore to got to rest. Or nest.

" The safest place we can be is as far from here as e can get." Jackson said , still looking at the island. " Lex, keep a lookout on the island. The second you see that thing even look this way, sing out. Eveyone else but Mel, gran a oar and start rowing."

" What on Earth?" came Mel's puzzled voice , " this compass must be broken."

Nathan spoke to Lex, " Here, give me the binoculars and go check out your compass.' Lex hastened to comply as he and Jackson both went up to Mel.

The youth took the compass with a bewildered look. It was spinning around like a helicopter blade. " I don't know what could be causing this. I never heard of the monsters making anything like this happen." He looked up at them with wide, frightened eyes. Daley spoke up.

" Guys, here's this fog coming from?" she asked, pointing at a white fog bank that was rapidly approaching from the front of the boat, which had been ignored considering what as behind them."

At that moment, the sense of unreality Jackson had felt at the cave came over him again, far stronger than before.

" You don't get fog like this , at this time of day , in this weather." Mel said , giving an unsettled glance at Jackson.

" Can we go around it?" he asked, confident of her ability, even in these bizarre circumstances."

"' Cody, I'm afraid to try. It's too dangerous to go back to the island and with the compass acting all weird, I have no idea where we'd wind up."

The fog was no beginning to envelope them.

Jackson's recurring déjà vu as making I harder by the second for his to concentrate. He forced his attention firmly on the moment. He looked a the fog and made the only decision he could.

" Take us in it, but everyone grab a weapon. Eric, we both get a gun. I've got the ammo in my hoodie. I hope we don't have to use them."

The fog closed soundlessly over the seven survivors of Flight 29DWN.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Eric's Story

Day 80, Shortly after Midnight

For over thirty hours the seven lost souls had drifted about in the almost cotton colored fog. There had been no further signs of monsters, big or small. In fact, there had been no sign of anything. No noise save the lapping of the waves could be heard, other than the occasional voices of the seven themselves. Even in the night air, the fogbank stayed a faintly luminous white. Their collective nerves were frayed as they pondered their plight, for the oddly behaving compass was still acting up. Now, at half past midnight, Jackson, Eric and Nathan were quietly talking . All of them had decided to sleep on the main body of the boat. It made it cramped in the extreme, but Jackson hadn't wanted anyone isolated on the pontoons while the fog as here.

" Man, I'm tired of laying on my stomach, " Nathan said, for the fifteen or sixteenth time since they had departed the last island, " and these stitches hurt, even the liquid stuff Mel put on the gashed on my hip." Although his most serious wound as to his back, Nathan hadn't gotten off with just one. He has four cuts, two on each hip that Mel had used liquid stitches on as well.

Eric commiserated with him, rubbing the three inch long scar , still fresh on his neck from his fight with a parasite a month ago. " You think they hurt now, wait 'til Mel takes them out. It took Chief here threatening to , what was it?" he asked, glancing at Jackson, who was minding the sail.

" I told you I'd stitch your mouth up if you didn't quit whining." the light brown haired man said with a ghost of a smile as he looked at them.

" It took him threatening to do that to hold me still." he finished with a grin.

" Boy, I can hardly wait, " Nathan said, rolling his eyes before snorting wryly, " always something to look forward to." He lay his face back down on his sleeping bag.

" Just try to get some rest Nathan, " Jackson said as he sat back in the captain's chair, really one of the seat's from 29DWN, " there's not much any of us can do until this fog clears. _Or if it does, _he left unsaid.

Within fifteen minutes, Nathan had finally drifted off into sleep and was softly snoring on the deck. Eric and Jackson were the only to people on board no awake and Eric gingerly stepped over Nathan to sit on the deck beside Jackson . In a move of familiarity that eighty days ago would have instantly provoked a brawl, he lay his hat on the deck and folded his hands over Cody's knee laying his head down. It would probably done his shaky self esteem a great deal of good if he could have noticed the gentle smile that washed over Jackson's face as he looked down at the smaller teenager. It was a look that only Eric and Mel ever made him have. He reached a hand down and put it on Eric's back, gently rubbing it. Eric, the shameless little hedonist he cheerfully admitted he was, practically melted as Cody increased the pressure.

" Feels good?" he asked rhetorically as Eric let out a moan.

" Yeah, it does. Hard to believe this was the first thing Captain Chaos had us do way back at the Hotel Tango." Eric sighed , turning over so he could face Cody as his back as massaged.

" I was surprised at the time at how good you were at giving massages at the time myself. How did you learn to do it so well." he asked. Instantly, he could feel tension ratcheting up Eric's spine, his hole body going rigid.

He started to pull away from Jackson, but Jackson was having none of it. He held onto Eric's arms in spite of his protest. " Enough's enough. Tell me why every time I ask about your past or why you hate exercise, you do this same thing. You get mad and tune me out. You didn't let me keep my past covered up, " referring to the stabbing Jackson had been involved in the night before they left on the trip, " and I'm tired of letting you get away with hiding yours. Tell me what's wrong with you Eric; Mel and I aren't about to stop caring about you now, despite anything you may have done." he looked into the suddenly terrified hazel green eyes of Eric for what seemed like an eternity before Eric finally spoke."

" I learned to do things like foot and back massages because it was one of the few ways I could ever get my mom to pay any attention at all to me . And trading bad jokes with Dad was about the only way he and I ever connected. And since he was gone to New York for most of the time , doing comedies and sketches, I was always left with Mom. And she was , like you and Taylor both say about your mothers, a little too fond of the happy pills."

Jackson's shoulders drew in slightly as he confessed, " I figured something like that was part of the problem. But why on Earth does the concept of getting in shape scare you? What does it have to do with anything?"

Eric actually had tears in the corners of his eyes as he finally, after all the ordeals they had been through, all of the literally life or death situations, confessed as secret he had firmly intended to carry to his grave. He explained it at last to the person ho he trusted more than any other alive, even Mel.

" My mom is little, like me. Dad, he's a whole other story. My dad's about 6 foot three and weighs around 235. And he's a fitness nut. The only reason he never tried to go into sports is he broke both legs in a car crash when he was about our age. But he had his comedy routine going even then. Mom said his sense of humor , of always wanting to play around as why she married him. And when I was little, he tried to get me into sports and I just wasn't very good at it. And when I hit thirteen and it was plain I'd never be his size or really good at many sports, he started shutting me out some. And then, I tried out for the baseball team and actually made it."

Jackson looked at him with mild surprise, " I never knew you even liked baseball. Basketball's the only sport I ever heard you even mention."

" I never got to play. I hurt my leg during practice on the third day, I torn a couple of tendons and Mom yanked me out. She was pissed that I even tried out. She said one damn jock wannabe in the family as enough. I had to stay at home for a couple of days. She cussed me, and I mean really cussed me out about it. She finally got right up in my face and told me she had hated jocks all her life, especially the one she married and she'd see me dead before I wound up like my dad, a failed athlete and a second rate comedian."

" Jesus .' was all Jackson could think to say. He put a hand on Eric's shoulder. This time, he didn't shake it off.

" She got up in my face and I got mad myself. I told her if he was such a fucking failure, why didn't she have to work. Bad move.." his eyes were downcast as Jackson encouraged him.

" Go on, don't leave it hanging there."

Eric looked out at the fogbank, a forlorn expression on his mobile face, " She hit me. She slapped the shit out me. When I told her not to ever touch me again, she actually punched me in the mouth. She even broke a tooth and chipped a nail. She went wild. I had to run lock myself in my room. I didn't know what to do. I mean, she's a woman. You don't hit women. And she was my mom. I didn't know what to do, where to go. And then, about two hours later, she came knocking at my door. She anted to talk. And I could tell she as on the pill and probably drinking too. I finally let her in and it got a thousand times worse."

" What happened Eric?" Cody asked, an arm now firmly around his companion, who as shivering violently, obviously straining to maintain control.

In an almost emotionless voice, he plodded on: " At first, it was ok. She apologized for hurting me. She helped me clean the blood up. She had found the broken part of my tooth and swore we'd be at the dentist first thing in the morning to get it fixed or replaced. And she kept hugging me, telling me how sorry she was, how I was her beautiful, handsome son. The most attractive man she knew and how she wished she had married someone like me instead of Dad."

With a numbing certainty, Cody knew what was coming next even without Eric's harsh whisper.

" She was drunk, she didn't know what she was doing, but she touched me in ways no relative should ever touch someone. When I tried to pull away, she went psycho all over again. She broke my nose. I was too scared to do anything to defend myself and she beat the holy living hell outta me. And she told me if I ran away or told Dad, she's make sure I spent the rest of my life in an insane asylum or prison. She even told me she'd swear I tried to rape her." He looked as though he would pass out as he got to his feet.

" We never talked about it again. She always went off to pull her drunks after that. And I as almost as scared of Dad as I was her. He drank a lot too and he always had a quick temper where I was concerned. He even tried to send me off to military school . Mom told him I had gotten beaten up at school to explain the injuries. He was more pissed that I wouldn't, couldn't tell who did it. He said I was a " fucking pussy who couldn't even defend himself like a real McGorrill would". Mom and I came to an understanding: she would keep me home if I kept my mouth shut about what happened and she was about to start seeing some other people and I as to keep my mouth shut about that too.

I pit up with it for about four months. And then I came in from school to find my Mom in bed with not one but two guys. They were both around twenty and , I swear to God Cody, they could have both passed for my relatives, they looked that much like me or her. It made me sick, physically sick. I waited until Dad came home the next weekend. I asked him to take my swimming. He actually agreed. And then, it all backfired on me."

Cody breathed out in disbelief, " He didn't believe you?"

" I never told him. Before I could, he confessed to me that he'd been having an affair in New York for two years with a married woman and he was pretty sure her year old baby as his and not her husband's . Hubby had found out and told him he had to choices, either leave NYC and never come back or divorce Mom and marry her but leave the kid with him. My dear old dad, that paragon of virtue, decided he'd rather hide in LA than fight to keep his other kid, my baby sister.

So I've lived in a war zone at home for three years. The week before we left, Dad filed for a separation. Now, when we get home, I get to decide between a mom who tries to molest me when she's stoned or a dad who's the biggest coward I know. And mom's one of the biggest gay basher's on the west coast with dad coming in a close second. When they find out I've been raped by multiple guys and I'm in a threesome with a guy and a girl, I'm toast. They'll send me so far away, I'll lose the both of you. I can't do it. I don't want to live without you to in my life. I can't go back to being that way. That's why I cover everything up with a joke. That's why I pick at Lex all the time, just like Dad picked at me. Because if I think about it, it drives me crazy."

Jackson walked over, hugged him tight. " As long as there's breath in my body, I'll be there when you need me Eric. And you know Mel will too. Even the other's would have been willing to help if they'd ever known."

Eric turned panic filled eyes on him at that, " No! They can't know. Mel, yeah, but not them. I don't want their pity."

" I'd never do that to you. But Mel has to know, it's her right." he said firmly, wiping the tears off of Eric's face.

Without any more words, they sat back down, Jackson back in the chair, Eric with his head on his boyfriends leg.

With a combination of the stress of the breakdown and the flight from the monster they were both exhausted. They missed the very first sight of the uncharted island appearing as if by magic from the suddenly clearing fog. The intrepid little boat whimsically named Rosebud gently drifted up towards the shore as if guided there by some ghostly hand.

An elderly woman stood there, fifty yards away waiting for her seven expected guests.

" Tagaloa-savali be praised, " she murmured to herself, " for the time of war is nearly upon us."

She stood vigil as the seven slept on.


	15. Chapter 15

If you ant to know more about Jackson's adventure referred to here, please read Jackson's Other Lives

Chapter Fifteen

The Rock of Tagaloa

Day 82 Morning

When the elderly woman called out a greeting , the seven survivors nearly had collective heart attacks. Lex tripped and fell on an instantly bellowing Nathan. Daley and Melissa collided into Taylor, knocking her painfully into the port pontoon with a crash and hapless Eric was so startled he hit the edge of the prow and fell headlong into the shallow water the Rosebud was in, on the verge of the beach of the uncharted island.

" Eric! Somebody give him a hand while I see who she is and what she wants, " Jackson commanded as he tucked the nearly empty pistol into the pocket of his pants as he hurled himself over the side of the boat. He waded in the knee deep water and approached the now silently smiling woman.

" Welcome Cody Jackson, " she called out as he waded up on the shore. And the second his feet touched the dry area of the beach, his head exploded.

Not literally, but figuratively as images of him in a cave , in the storm the day Eric had revealed Jackson's involvement in a stabbing to the group. Of meeting a disembodied voice calling itself Tagaloa-savali, the Messenger of the Samoan deitites. Of how the spirit had let him travel to seven different versions of the Earth. And of what had happened on each of the Earths.

On the first one, he had been a gay teen named Noah and he had willingly set a bisexual predator up with his own body to save an emotionally unstable girl named Carmen Lopez.

On the second Earth,a very strange one, he had taken over the body of an actor named Johnny Pacar, who as playing Cody Jackson on a kid's tv show.

He had helpwd, by nearly being killed, salvage his relationship with Kristy Wu, a virtual copy of Mel.

On the third Earth, one that brought tears to his eyes to remember, he had had the experience of two minds in one body as he had helped a teen named Sam save himself from drugs and suicide in the wake of his role in the death of his girlfriend, Silver Strand.

On the fourth Earth, he had been a teen who had a family almost as bad as Eric's as Nathan Atherton, the 17 year old emancipated son of to parents who had tried to have their own son killed for his properties, only to be saved by a CSI Miami detective named Horatio Kane.

On the fifth Earth, he was in the body of Dayton Moore, over a dozen years in the past. He had helped stop a gang rape and the resulting rampage it's would be victim would have unleashed on a mall full of innocents.

On the sixth Earth, he had helped his counterpart realize the unrequited love he, Damon Young had felt for Emily Kmetko. This life would have been a paradise if it hadn't made him realize how much he knew Mel cared for him and how he was starting to feel for her as well.

And on the last Earth, he came face to face with a version of himself who was a literal wizard. He had given him an enchantment on his cross that Jackson simply couldn't fathom the purpose of , as only a virgin, something he most assuredly was not, could use. That one's name had been Danny Sinclair.

In each of these other lives, he had been forced to make a life altering decision for the others. And most chilling of all, Tagaloa -savali had told him that the Cloverfield monsters were causes in part because of the Subversion and Perversion drugs that the Russell and Watsons had discovered. That the monsters had been unleashed for some dark purpose. And he had been give a choice; stay in paradise on Damon's Earth, or stay here.

And to emphasize the point, Tagaloa-savali had given him a vision of the things that had come to pass.

Of the multiple beatings, druggings and rapes of himself and all of the others save Lex and Taylor. Of his killing Russell. Of his ordeals with the pirates and the monsters. Of pain, sorrow and grief.

And of hope. Of the love that had grown like entwined roses between he, Mel and Eric . And of other blessings laid on his cross and himself. Especially, of the blessing of forgetting the journeys until he finally stood here, at this place. He got to his feet, aware of the others now wading up behind him and he knew without a doubt here he was.

He spoke to the ancient woman who had slowly approached , " The Rock. The bones of Tagaloa-savali's father."

She opened her arms wide in a gesture of greeting and spoke to them all : " Yes. The Rock. From where the great Tagaloa called the Rock into existence from the Expanse. Here he set forth the creeping rock, the coral rock, the thick rock and the clay rock and set the Sea forth to bring their children forth and where he commanded the Great Union that gave the Earth form and life.

Welcome dear blessed children. Eric Jeremy McGorrill, Melissa Kristine Wu, Nathaniel Corbin McHugh, Taylor Lauren Hagen, Daley Hallee Marin, Cody John Jackson and especially to you," she went to her ancient knees and bowed to a stunned Lex.

" Hail to thee, Alejandro Allen Ramirez- Marin, better called Lex Marin. Greetings o Promised One. Your unworthy servant awaits your bidding and shall instruct you and your champions on the means and ends of our great Foe." She rose again, this time helped by Cody Jackson. Lex looked frozen as Daley came up and put an arm around her brother. Jackson spoke slowly.

" I remember it all now. The second I touched the shore here. This place, is it?" he asked, knowing the answered even before she spoke.

" I am Leilani and I may be the last of the kahuna of my generation. You shall come to my house for dinner and then we shall go to the temple here you shall at last meet your other guardians and find out why I have summoned you here at their bequest."

The seven silently followed the woman to a small hut on the edge of the cloud and fog filled jungle .

***************************************************************

Unknown to even Leilani, another boat was nearing the far side of the island. It was a small, inflatable one. A filthy, bedraggled from was on it. He had been hallucinating, or so he thought, until a voice had guided him her, searing all he desired should be his if he destroyed the people on the island utterly. And that if he took a certain black crystal from the necklace on the ancient kahuna's throat, that he could at last be reunited with his dead twin.

Richard Russell paddled the boat toward the shore with a smile on his broad bearded face.

Author's Note: Yes, Lex is also called Alexander. In an interview DJ MacHale said they had meant to go into the relationship with Lex's parents and explain why he had the Marin last name, but…you know what happened, damn NBC.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Query ( no smart comments pleaseJ) Has anyone heard from Joucelin Hades?: It's unlike Jouce to not respond to messages.

Chapter Sixteen

Answers, Explanations and Prophecies

Day 82 : Late Morning

After a five minute walk, the 29Downers followed the aged Leilani into her hut. The term was somewhat misleading, the "hut" was easily the size of a house. It even had a wooden floor and there were four distinct sections to it. The central area was big enough that they weren't crowded overly, there was a small kitchen area , a sleeping area was walled off by a beaded curtain and in the furthest room was an alter, but one like none of them had ever seen before.

Jackson walked over to it was Leilani bustled about in the kitchen, telling them to make themselves comfortable. Nathan and Lex followed closely behind him. His eyes narrowed as some of the dozens of symbols and figure seemed familiar to him. The Greek and Roman gods and goddesses he , for the most part, recognized. A few were Norse ones and , of course, the Samoan ones were familiar. But even more he didn't recognize.

" Whoa, " Nathan said, awe in his voice, " Some of these I've never seen outside of museums. He pointed a a thing like a c shaped necklace, " That's the Niall torc, from the old Irish myths and I think some of these are Aztec and Mayan , too."

" Inca and Hawaiian ones too," Lex added. He looked over at the strange old woman who had literally fallen to her knees and acted as if she wished to worship him, " What 's she doing with all of these? And what about this Tagaloa-savaili you and she were talking about?' He looked up at Jackson.

" That's what we'd all like to know Jackson." Daley said as she, Taylor , Eric and Mel walked over to look at the alter. " Why is she calling Lex the Promised One? And what happened to you?"

Jackson looked at the group and shrugged, " I'm as clueless as the rest of you about the deal ith Lex. Tagaloa-savali told me I'd be his guardian in a battle, but he didn't get any more specific than that. The prophecy or whatever, I have no idea.." He turned his attention to Leliani, who was walking their way with a large wooden platter with seven small tumblers and a wooden pitcher on it. Mel, always helpful Mel, walked up to help the elderly lady as she led them back into the center of the large front room.

" Thank you, dear one," she said as she lowered herself onto one of the many small stools in the room, indicating with a wave of her hands that they should be seated as well. She settled gracefully onto the mall, lightly padded stool and looked at them from her nearly useless obsidian colored eyes. She turned her gaze upon each of them in turn, a pleased expression settling over her dark, time worn face. When she spoke to them, it was as if she had known them all of their lives, there was love in her words that seemed so natural, despite the strange circumstances.

" I would imagine that each of you has a great many questions to ask of me and answers to demand." She held a hand up swiftly to forestall the questions, " All I ask of you is that you let me explain who and what I am, why you were brought here and how this situation with the monsters attacking our world came to pass." She rocked slowly back and forth as she began to speak.

" I was born on Molokai nearly ninety years ago. My father died in a squall before I as born and I was raised in the household of my mother's father, my grandfather. He was a student of the old ways, the kahuna practitioners. I gre up on the stories of Pele, Kane, Ku, Lono and Kanaloa." She smiled as Jackosn as the name made him look up at her. " Oh yes, our legends are mixed with our Samaon cousins. Tagaloa and Kanaloa are all but twins. But my grandfather was the first of our village to have every journeyed out past Hawaii."

" He spent half of his life traveling the world, seeking out other believers in the spiritual world and he found them. It took over a third of his life, but he finally gathered them together, worshippers of the Greco-Roman gods, of the Norse, of the Tiki gods naturally, of the Mayan remnants, of the Tuatha, the ancient Irish gods and of the Hindu and finally, the Aztecs. And for a year they studied and prayed and argued and finally, the seven leaders, including him, went for a trip together into these waters and found this island and the temple in it's center after passing through a glowing cloudbank."

" Just like us!" Taylor interrupted, being shushed by Mel and Daley for it, " Sorry." she said, looking abashedly down at her feet.

" Yes, Taylor, just like that, " Leilani replied with a soft smile, " and , when they explored , they found the temple of the seven Elders. A temple with seven sides, each one dedicated to the seven pantheons of god they worshipped. And when they found it, each gave thanks at the faces that represented them. And the gods, after sleeping for two thousand years, answered this great assemblage."

"They were astonished , of course. Then delighted. My grandfather asked them why they had slept, why had they abandoned their servants so long ago. And they were told for the first time in history of the Skari, the great monsters you have seen and the Sokil, the lesser monsters."

" It was Zeus, the Olympian Lord who explained , for the monsters mother as Nox, the ancient Greek deity, an elemental, not a goddess who birthed them and their father was of the one major group of gods not represented on the island, the Heliopolitans, the ancient Egyptian gods, their god of evil, Set. Set and Nox intended on destroying the other gods with their children. No god from either group could kill them for they fed off of any magic save that with spawned them. No normal mortal heroes could help for the more evil and hatred the Skari or Sokil are exposed to, the stronger they grew. So , the seven great Lords used their immense power to do four things."

" The first thing they did was to seal the beasts in a limbo between the worlds. For every great decision taken on this Earth, there exist one where the decision was different. They buried the evil between all of the many versions of Earth, but the strongest of the beasts were hidden between the seven Earths Jackson visited. Needless to say, " she had an ironic tone to her voice, " the great mother herself was hidden closest to this Earth, where they were first born."

" The second thing they did was to use their great power to destroy completely Nox and Set in a battle that lasted a hundred years."

" The third thing they did and the most prudent was to consult their seers, the oracles. The greatest of them was the Oracle of Delphi, who told them that a god not of their union would one day breach the barrier by causing so much unnatural evil to be unleashed that the natural balance would be undone. And that men would love this evil so much they would lose themselves in it forever."

" With this knowledge, they appointed a messenger, Tagaloa-savali, to keep watch over the half blood descendants of the seven lords on Earth. They granted him the ability to summon them forth from the slumber they went into as their worshippers dwindled and they rested the sleep of the gods. But they had not forsaken their human worshippers. They made a last alliance to safeguard humanity from the unknown foe . They had my grandfather vow to teach his arts to his descendants and that one of them would always live here, aided my Tagaloa -savali, to keep watch over their descendants. And to one of the descendants, the offspring of Itzamna of the Maya, they each granted one seventh of their power. And that descendant , a hundred generations removed sits here before me with the descendants of the others gathered around him. It is you, Lex Marin. You have in you the ability to stop the monsters before they destroy the world, but first, you must help me finally put a face and name to our foe."

" The unknown one has been crafty. The Russells and Watsons were subtly guided into finding the cursed tarasia plant. The Subversion drug culled from it is evil enough, but, as Nathan McHugh knows , the Perversion is the weapon of the foe. With but a drop, a father would rape his own children, a mother would commit the most atrocious acts with her own parents. And the desire to do so would increase with each use. It's very creation was enough to breach the barriers and let the Great Mother loose here. And as long a single person exists who knows ho to make it, they cannot die. Even the knowledge of it is pure evil."

" But we killed them all, or they killed each other!" Eric exploded out of his seat in a burst of energetic denial, " Didn't they?"

She shook her head in denial: " No. One escaped and has been shielded from my senses and even Tagaloa -savali's by our unnamed foe. As long as he draws breath, the monsters shall not fall, not even to Lex with the power unleashed. But it is not through force we may prevail, but by setting the balance right with love. Besides, " she actually grinned mirthlessly at them, " for the sole servant of our foe to do any good for them, Lex or I would have to die before you meet the gods and that shall not happen for they are merely waiting for a summons."

She stood up and flung her arms wide, " Oh Great Sky Fathers, your servant has fulfilled her duties. The children are here and wish to speak with their forebears.

In the seven windows of the hut, seven winds blew in. Seven forms slowly swirled into existence, each standing by their descendant.

Behind Melissa Wu, herself only one sixteenth Hawaiian, stood Kane, Hawaiian god of life and light.

Behind Taylor Hagen stood Odin, the ruler of Asgard.

Behind Nathan McHugh stood Breide, also called St. Bridget , better known as the source of the legend of the Lady of the Lake.

Behind Eric McGorrill stood Brahma of the Hindu pantheon.

Behind Daley Marin stood Zeus himself.

Behind Lex stood Itzamna, the founder of the Mayan race.

And behind Cody Jackson stood none other than the feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, of the Aztecs, who spoke to them all simply:

" It is time to prepare you for battle, beloved children. By the end of this day, you will live in freedom or die in everlasting agony."


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note; jouce, you wanted Daley to say her piece, for all the Daley fans, here it is.

Chapter Seventeen

Conversing with Gods

Day 82 Late Morning

Seven youths now stood before seven deities from the most ancient legends of mankind. Between them, these seven had been worshipped by literally billions of people. And the sheer power, the strength they gave off effortlessly would have overwhelmed almost anyone. Except for a sister who was afraid for her brother's life.

" Are all of you crazy?! Lex is a ten year old boy and you want him to try to stop the end of the world? To fight monsters the size of mountains and some other "god", " her tone made a cruse of the word, " while the seven of you sit on your asses and watch. Fuck all of you!" she cried out as she en and put her arms protectively on her stepbrother's shoulders. " I won't let you do this with him," she said defiantly, " he's been through enough!" She dared to glare angrily at the fathers of seven different families of gods.

" Daley, are you nuts?' Nathan hissed desperately, " These , er, people can turn you into a frog or something!"

" I don't care! Lex has went through enough. He's has two different pedophiles after his ass, literally. He nearly been lunch for the little monsters. He's been in gunfights, monsoons and basically went through more in one summer than most people do in a lifetime. I'm not letting him risk his life again. I'm not going home and telling our parents I had to let him die!" And she burst into tears, dropping to her knees and wrapping her brother in a protective embrace.

Lex hugged his stepsister back with all the strength in his small body. Then, in his soft voice, he spoke to her, and to the rest of the assemblage as well, " Daley ,I can't not try to do this. What if the monsters attack Los Angeles? How do you think I'd feel if Mom or your dad or someone else we care about dies because I didn't try. I don't want to die, but I can't not try, " he said firmly. At this moment, he was the youngest, but the most adult of the seven as he made his decision. " I'm going to do it. But I don't want you mad at me for trying . And I don't want you blaming yourself if something goes wrong. Please Daley, I'm scared enough." She looked into his wide brown eyes and saw the fear, and the determination there as well as he went on, " I can't do this if you're fighting me."

And she knew that it was useless, that standing in his way now would do nothing but quite possibly make him fail. She kissed her brother's cheek and gave him another hug, wiping the tears from her eyes, " I can't talk you out of this, I know. I just want you safe Lex."

" As long as I know all of you are here to help , I'll feel a lot better. " he replied, " But we better listen to what they, " he looked over her shoulders at the divinities standing there, " have to say."

They got up and faced the group together.

Daley was flustered. She'd never lost it like that before, and to do it to _this_ group! " Uh, I'm sorry."

Incredibly, the red haired Zeus began laughing gustily, small sparks flying from his hair as he did so: " I see my blood runs true in you, dear Daley! You have the audacity of an Olympian indeed, See, fellow sky kings, " he looked at the group of "god", all of whom seemed somehow pleased, " I have been saying to you that not all mortals in these undreamt of times were cowards! Only a true hero would dare to argue with such an audience ." He put a huge hand on Daley's shoulder and smiled down at her for a moment before yielding the floor to Quetzalcoatl, who looked at them in good humor, but with an undeniable trace of impatience.

" This is not the place for the meeting. Come, let us take you to the temple of the Seven, where we shall each meet with our chosen champions for an hour , before gathering one last time before the arming of the heroes. And at that time, we seven , our messenger and our faithful servant shall join with Lex, " he looked at the child briefly, " and together, we shall help him determine who our ultimate foe is." The eight foot tall titan clapped his hands and….

They appeared in front of a huge stone temple with seven sides and seven entrances , in the middle of the Uncharted Island. Each of the gods put a gentle hand one their descendants and led them to a entrance way. The seven couples slowly separated.

***************************************************************

Daley and Zeus went together into the entrance way with a Roman symbol for Jove/Jupiter, their name for Zeus on it. He handed Daley an unbelievably old torch and ignited it with a spark for her. She took it and walked slowly around the small chamber , looking at the many stories of Greco-Roman legends on the wall. She jumped slightly as he asked her in his thunderous voice.

" Tell me truly daughter, do you know any of the stories on these ancient wall? Are we Olympian remembered in these times ?" He seemed genuinely curious as to her reply.

Daley Marin looked at the walls, then answered, pointing to each as she did. " Yes, I do. There's baby Hercules, strangling the serpents. And there, " she pointed at a figure on a winged horse, holding a snaky head up, " that's Perseus on Pegasus, holding the Gorgon's head up." She pointed to a boat with at least a dozen forms on it" And that has to be the Argo, carrying Jason and the Argonauts on the search for the Golden Fleece."

Zeus beamed in approval: " Yes, it is. Your own group had reminded me of that adventure in many ways. Indeed , you remind me of my favorite daughter, wise Athena herself."

Daley disagreed, " I'm not that wise. If it weren't for Jackson, I'd have led us right into death."

Zeus disputed the point: " Nay. When Jackson lost faith in himself, you led them well. And he depends on your advice more than you realize now. And your brother and your beloved , " he smiled as Daley flushed at ho he described Nathan, " they rely on you deeply as well. You have the same problem as Athena did, You simply do not lie well. The truth can be bitter and you suffer fools not at all. It may make difficulties, but you simply are direct."

" You mean I can be a bitchy smartass who's convinced of her own infallibility." Daley said flatly.

Zeus replied deadpan; " I was slightly more polite than that, but far be it from the mightiest of Olympians to argue with you."

The two red headed people both burst out laughing as they began to walk up the stair to the chamber at the top of the seventy seven foot high temple.

************************************************************

Nathan McHugh was not nearly as shy about talking as Daley had been . In fact, he as afraid the Lady of the Lake would somehow magically silence him, but he still kept talking.

" And King Arthur really existed? And Sir Gawain? And the Green Knight ?And what about Merlin? Was he a time traveler like some of the stories said? And what about Roland and Charlemagne?

The seven foot tall platinum haired cried out finally:" Enough! By all the god and goddesses, does your tongue ever lie still?"

Nathan looked up at the Lady, fear on his face, " Sorry."

She put a hand on his hand and gently reassured him, " Fear not, Nathaniel. I would gladly tell you stories about the Tuatha, the Fomor and the Celtic brethren, but there is simply not time. Yes, Arthur was real. And Roland, Charlemagne and Merlin. No, that worthy could peer into the future, but he was not from there. No, " she had a faint ghost of a smile in her voice, " I am not mad at you, young one. Far from it. It is good to see that not all the chivalry of old has faded into legends yet. That is a part of why you are here, curious one."

Nathan ducked his head slightly, acknowledging the hit. He had always been curious about the Dark and Middle ages. " Why am I here?"

" Every quest need a guide. That has ever been your role in your group. Jackson and Daley have led. Lex has inspired events. Taylor and Eric have provided the examples of growth and Melissa has been the soul, the living center. But you, you have been the moral compass to which even the leaders have turned. And that is why you are here. You are not the leader, nor the mere foot soldier. Like Lancelot or Percival, you are the champion of the leader, their living weapon. The one to whom even the King must rely. That is your role in the coming battle. While Jackson protects Lex from the Great Enemies own agent, it is you who will lead the defense of the temple against the other forces." And she grew silent as she led his to the steps to the top.

An equally silent Nathan followed her.

***************************************************************

" Would it make you mad if I said I still don' t really know if I believe in magic?" Taylor asked the enormous one eyed figure who was watching her in the edge of the Norse entrance. She swallowed nervously as he looked down at her, his grim face half hid in shadow.

" Why do you doubt what is clear in front of your own eyes, Taylor Hagen." asked Odin, the All Father of the Norse god, the father of Thor.

" I'm contrary like that sometimes." the blonde said simply. " I mean, I never even liked magicians when Daddy would hire them for parties when I was a little kid. And no, I'm talking to "gods" and I'm supposed to be in a fight to help Lex save the world. It just seems so, I dunno, far fetched." She could have sworn the elderly looking Odin's beard twitched slightly at that.

He asked her gently: " Taylor. Is it the thought of not surviving that makes you deny the obvious?"

She didn't deny it: "' Yes! I don't want to die, not fighting in something like this? In a fight that shouldn't be happening .And I don't want everyone I care about to die because I don't know how to fight either!" She actually scared herself with her vehemence.

Odin went to one knee in front of her and offered an gauntleted hand to her. She hesitated, then took it.

" Taylor, I know what it is like to go into a battle and know you will fall. To have no doubts at all about it, that I will one day go into a battle I cannot win. Even my fellow sky-fathers do not have such a burden."

Taylor looked into his one blue eye and asked, " What do you mean? You know you're going to die in a fight you can't win?"

Odin sighed, " Daughter, you know so little of your legends. But, all of the gods of Asgard know that one day, we will , all but the sons of Thor, die in the Gotdammerung, the Twilight of the Gods. Since I gave up my eye in Mimer's well for wisdom, I have known my fate. I will die Taylor, " he reached out to hold her chin, " I will be eaten by my own grandchild, the Fenris wolf. And all of my children, even Thor, shall die on that day."

" I have known it and there is nothing I can do to stop it. But your battle is not the same. You may be able to win your fight."

She cried out in frustration: " How? I love Lex and all the others but how?"

" By faith. And hope. That is how you will win. I know the faith Jackson has in you. Even Lex has faith and love for you. You are the only one who doesn't. And if you cannot find it, you will fall."

He guided her to the stone steps, a huge hand on her back as he guided her up.

***************************************************************

Melissa and Kane, Hawaiian god of light looked at one another .

" Well, any words of wisdom for me?" Mel asked hopefully.

" Fight well and you will live, fight poorly and , well, " Kane made a sound like a frog croaking."

Despite herself, Mel laughed at the grinning god, " Talk about your motivational speakers. I though you gods were all silent, mean spirited and grim all the time."

Kane spoke , " Haole nonsense! We are more like you than different, little one. ' He gestured and a wooden bench appeared. He motioned for her to sit beside him. " No sense in being uncomfortable. Now, how did a nice girl like you wind up in a threesome with two bisexual boys?"

Mel looked like she wished she could turn into a frog just about now.

Kane laughed at her: " Don't answer that! I already know. Through love . And I see you fear losing either of them, but especially Cody."

Mel called out in anguish, " Yes, and I know it's not fair to Eric, because I do love him too. I mean , I really am in love with both of them, but I need Jackson more."

Kane looked sagely at her: " And Eric loves Jackson more than he loves you. But me needs you more than he would ever admit, for fear of losing you both. "

Mel spoke earnestly: " I know. I still don't know all the details, but I heard some of their talk last night. Poor Eric. His own mother. God."

Kane reassured her: " That is why Eric needs the love of a woman , the right love from the right woman, even more than he needs the loving strength of Jackson. But, you must realize that you need them both as well."

Mel nodded assent: " I do, it's just I know when we get home, all hell will break loose."

Kane smiled broadly. " And in your own words, all unknowing, you have proven why you are my champion."

Mel looked confused. " What did I say ?"

" When. Not if. You have such love and faith for your friends and lovers that despite your fears, you trust them to do the impossible. It is how you have earned your place in their hearts and on this island battleground."

He stood up, light glowing from him. " Come, we need to be going.' and led her to the steps.**********************************************************

The Hindu Deity Brahma was busy reassuring Eric that he wasn't in any immediate danger of going to Hell.

" But I'm bisexual , a sneak , a thief , a blackmailer and that's just the tip of the iceberg." Eric as exclaiming , apparently confessing his sins to avoid judgment.

Brahma looked at him impassively: " Why should the choice of whom you lie with determine that? It matters not to me, other than I am glad for your sake you have dare to love greatly not merely one but two. As to the rest, your other deeds, great and small all balance out."

" So I have a fifty fifty chance?" Eric said hopefully.

For a minute, even a god considered saying" D'oh".

He stood up, all eight and a half feet of him. " My son, you have the heart of a tiger and the brains of a cub. If you worry all of your life about what you might have done wrong, then you will never know when you have done right! You must think more about the here and now . Your friends will need you. Your loved ones.

Eric looked at the ground, " I still feel like I don't deserve them."

The god answered. " None deserve the love of another, but we all seek it. And we all give it. It is our way to question and to doubt."

Eric asked in quiet desperation: " Then how do we ever know when it's real?"

" You simply shall."

Eric took his jacket off. Something fell out. It was the spare adrenaline injector. " Oops. . If I lose this, Chief and Mel will kill me. Mel ants me to keep it in case I find something else I'm allergic to."

"And even in the evidence of love you doubt, my troubled one?" Brahma smiled.

" Hey, I'm a troubled kinda guy." Eric said, even as he ruefully acknowledged the statement's truth.

***************************************************************

In his wildest dreams, Lex never dreamed he'd be carried on the shoulder's of the legendary founder of the Mayan race as he pointed out the many pictographs on the ancient stone alls and had them explained to him.

" And that one, that is…" Itzamna awaited an answer.

It's Chac , isn't it. The storm god." Lex answered. He hadn't been wrong yet. He felt the giant Mayan kneeling. He jumped off and glanced back at the imposing figure.

" How will I do it? I know "with love" , but I need details." he stated plainly.

Itzamna told him what he wished to know.

" You will go to the temple for the blessings of the seven. Then, you and Jackson will be taken to the chamber, where he will battle the servant of the great Enemy while the Great Mother monster and her offspring attack."

Lex's eyes nearly jumped out of his head. " How are they gonna fight those things? And I thought you didn't know who the servant and the other god was."

The deity spoke again: " You will undergo a vision quest before you descend, so we will know the face of our foe. We will give each of you an item after that for the battle. "

" And what will the seven of you do while we fight?"

The god stood up , a fierce look on his face, " Our combined might will be used to keep the 7 other earths safe. If this Earth falls, then they will as well. If the evil is not stopped here, the other seven spawn of Nox and Set will rise and destroy each of them."

Comprehension and terror warred in Lex. " Then we're fighting for more Earths than this one."

" Dear one. we are fighting for ALL of them."

Lex said pithily: " Don't pressure people much, do you?"

***************************************************************

Quetzalcoatl and Cody Jackson faced one another across the room of the Aztecs. They had talked for nearly the entire allotted hour.

" My child, " the feathered god spoke, a living serpent slung across his shoulders, " it is nearly time. All of the trial you have survived, all of the things you have seen and learned. All of them are to be put to the test shortly. After the weapons are given, you will have one last hour before the battle will begin, to spend with your loved ones. Use it wisely."

"I will." he said.

Moments later, seven gods and youths stood on the temple to. Leilani as there in a red and gold set of robes. A nalter was laid out with cushions and two braziers were lit, smelling of odd spices. Lelani spoke to them.

" And now, it is time for Tagaloa-Savali to join us." She pointed behind the 28Doners as a large and familiar form walked up the steps.

Little J stood there, a smile upon his face.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The Gifts of the Gods

Day 82 Noon

" It can't be ." Cody Jackson's words summed up exactly what was going through seven separate minds as Little J, Jamal, walked towards them with a smile on his face, " you died in mine , Eric and Melissa's arms."

" I am not the man you called Little J," came a voice Jackson knew well, even though it was the first time he had ever seen a body associated with it. " It is I, the Messenger, Tagaloa-savali." He beamed at the group of mortals in front of him, then went to a knee in front of the seven chieftains of the gods standing back by the alter. After making his obeisance, he rose and spoke." One of the gifts my father Tagaloa gave me was the power to take the form of a beloved other, so that my messages would be heard from a loved face. I have taken this form to honor the mortal man who turned his heart from darkness back to the light. Whenever or if ever you see me, after this day, this will always be the form I take for you.

Leilani , resplendent in her crimson and gold robes, walked to the far side of the circular dais and beckoned the seven humans to her. " Come to my side , children of destiny. It is now time for you to receive the gifts of the gods." They walked over and formed a loose knot around her as the Lady of the Lake stepped forwards.

She waved Nathan McHugh , her champion forwards with a faint but definite smile on her face. Nathan stepped up nervously. It was plain he was anxious to get the ceremony over with. The Lady held her hands forwards and a small globe of white light appeared. She raised her voice so all could hear as she instructed him. " Empty your mind of fear, my child. Fear can be useful, but no is not such a time. Focus on your love for your fellows here and on the loved ones at home. Remember the many victories you have attained while on these islands of exile. And remember the pain, the shames and the guilts, for they are a part of your strength as well. You have been bent and broken, but you still stand. And remember your dreams and hopes for they will serve as well as any weapon against the darkness we fight" She looked at his face across to feet of height and distance as she gave a final command. " Focus your will and draw forth what awaits you Nathaniel."

He reached into the small sphere with a trembling hand, concentrating with all his might. He almost felt something, but then, at every flicker of doubt, the light faded.

The Lady spoke again, " It is your role to be the guide, to be Jackson's living banner, his great captain in this battle. To show the others the way, you must succeed here first. Remember the love you have for them. Use your faith."

As he reached in again, he remembered fight with the others. He remembered the violations done to him. He remembered all of the failures. And then, when he heard a whispered prayer from Daley, he remembered six friends who had not let him give up. He remembered the love he had found . And he finally , after days of not remembering them, of fearing he had lost them, he finally remembered his dreams. Of living with honor as the knights of old. His fingers touched metal. It was hard, like moving a mountain, but he grasped and pulled the unknown object with all his might, hurt back and all. And it came loose.

In his hands was a wrought bronze scabbard, jewel encrusted, with ancient Celtic symbols on it. A hilt, also bejeweled, with a dragon motif on it could be seen. He shifted hands and drew forth the greatest sword even forged in the myths of mankind and whispered its name.

" Excalibur."

The Lady of the Lake smiled at his. She took the sword from him and spoke, tears in her own eyes. "Kneel."

Nathan dropped to a knee. She tapped him on both shoulders with the blade and cried out, " Arise Nathan McHugh, last Knight of Avalon, of Camelot and Tara. And may your actions this day bring honor to you, you family and your loved ones.' And with that said, she vanished. Nathan carried the sword back over to the group, an awed expression on his face still.

There wasn't time to congratulate him before mighty Zeus stood forth. The red haired god's beard crackled with electricity as he waved Daley forwards.

She stood in front of him. He reached down to lightly touch her hair. " Ah, how very like Athena, but with a bit of Artemis as well. My brave , brave daughter. " He stood back and again , a god held out a sphere of light for a mortal to draw a weapon from.

Daley had gained confidence in seeing Nathan succeed. It took only a fraction of the time before she pulled a quiver like tube out. Golden thunderbolts were humming in it.

" And now, my little Athena, you are the third in all of creation to ever wield the thunderbolts of Zeus in battle." And with that said, he vanished as well. Daley turned and went back to the group.

Taylor shivered as the grim, one eyed Norse warrior god Odin summoned her forwards. He gave her a wintery smile as she stood in front of him, her arms crossed. " Do you believe in me now Taylor Hagen?' he asked. She visibly hesitated.

"Say yes, please say yes, " Eric mumbled, oofing as Mel and Cody both hurried to elbow him.

Odin gave him a fierce glare as he turned his attention back to Taylor. " Do you?"

" I do, " she said, the held breath whooshing out of her. She reached into the proffered ball of eldritch power. It took longer than it had for Daley, almost as long as it had for Nathan, but she drew an item out. A huge hollow horn."

" Uh, I play cello, not French Horn, your Odinship." she said in an understandable tone of confusion. " What do I do with this?"

Odin actually shook his head before he answered. " It is the Gjallor horn. When you blow it, it will bring forth the warriors of Valhalla and the nine Valkyrior, my Valkyries, the choosers of the slain. But be warned, " he cautioned. " they can only linger here for ten of your minutes. You must chose the time wisely."

" Thanks. I won't forget. " Taylor turned and walked back to rejoin the others as Odin faded from sight.

Tall, bald Brahman summoned Eric forwards. The to slim figures stood there motionless for a long moment before Brahman spoke to his champion. " You will not die in this fight. You will not be injured . And you will not tire. That is my gift to you." And with that cryptic statement, he disappeared in a flare of light.

" Did anyone else get that? " Eric said as he walked back to the others in obvious confusion.

Kane stood forth next. Mel walked up to meet her patron with a smile. Unlike most of the others, she actually liked her Hawaiian god. " My brave, beautiful Melissa. Come and receive your gift.' As before, a god held out a sphere of light. But this time, when Mel reached in, the light vanished from the sphere and went into her.

" What did I do wrong?' she asked in sudden fear. The fear was fleeting as Kane smiled at her distress.

" You did nothing wrong child. That was my gift, the gift of light will be your for this battle. And the braver you are , the more you fight to protect the others, the stronger the light will be." And he was gone between one heart beat and the next. Mel walked back to the group.

Itzamna sallied forth next, met by a smiling Lex Marin. As had Mel, he'd enjoyed meeting his protector. . Even in his fear of the upcoming battle, he was glad to talk to him one more time. " What do you have for me, sir?" he asked in a courteous voice.

Itzamna smiled a the child born of prophecy. " I have thing for you young Lex. He held out a ancient golden chair to the boy, a Mayan necklace. " It will help channel the power within you, to destroy the beasts once and for all. For you will be able to draw not only on the power if the seven, but the collected will of every living person on earth. It should burn the power out of you, leaving you mortal once again, but alive."

Lex protested: "But I haven't gotten the power yet."

Itzamna said"' The ceremony will take place after the last two gifts are bestowed. Leilani and Tagaloa-savali will guide your vision quest and then you will feel the full force of your ancestry." And he was gone.

Two last forms walked towards one another. Cody Jackson came face to face again with the serpent god Quetzalcoatl . He spoke simply to Cody: " Hold forth your hands."

Jackson hesitated. This was nothing like what the others had done. But, he did it.

A wave of fire seemed to wash up and down the surface of his body . And there as another, immediate difference. He suddenly felt more whole than he had ever felt in his life, more centered, more focused. And the lingering emptiness that had haunted him since he had been drugged with the Subversion was gone.

" It's gone, " he said softly, " the addiction. Like I never touched the damned stuff.

The Aztec Quetzalcoatl smiled thinly. " That gift is only for the length of this day, Cody Jackson. If you survive, once you leave this sanctuary, it will return. For that, I am truly sorry." the fierce tattooed deity seemed genuinely sorry. " But now, it is time for my last gift to you." He held a blue feather out to him. " This feather will lay the dead to rest. It can only be used once." And with that, he was gone.

The nine of them stood there quietly for a moment. Predictably , Taylor found a minor point to make, one the others had overlooked.

" Uh, I thought they were supposed to help with the deal with Lex."

Tagaloa-savali laughed, " Just because you cannot seem them, it does not mean they are not here Taylor. They have abandoned their shells to focus their full might upon Lex . And the time is almost here. All of you but Lex have one last hour to spend with each other as you see fit, while Leilani and I prepare him. Within three hours, the fate of this world will be decided. No go, " he gently shooed them with his large hands, " enjoy a last moment of peace."

And they separated . Eric, Cody and Mel went off together. So did Nathan and Daley. And Taylor went off by herself, the odd person out as Lex and the servants of the gods began talking quietly.

Unknown to them, Richard Russell was watching from nearby. And having a conversation with his own god.

" All right, now what do I do?" he asked the voice he had been hearing in his head since awakening from the battle on another island days ago.

The voice told him.

He laughed, " Ok, then I need to get the old lady's necklace and since she doesn't have it on, it must be in her hut." He turned and went back into the brush without a sound.

Black and red clouds slowly began edging up on the Uncharted Island. A huge form on another island began to rouse. It sensed the power of its ancient enemies all around it. It rose to its full three thousand foot height and roared at the heavens themselves. It then abandoned the nest where it had laid it eggs and sought the source of the power to destroy it.

Over a hundred black, glistening eggs were left behind it, visibly pulsing.

Near the twelve largest cities left on Earth, the other monsters slowly advanced. The second largest of them, over a half mile tall itself, slowly advanced towards Los Angeles where the parents of Lex, Daley, Taylor, Nathan and Eric were gathered for the funeral of another parent.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Second Interlude**

**For such a fun loving man as Michael McGorrill, his funeral would have seemed even drearier than it as. A scant half dozen people had bothered to attend. Even with Los Angeles two thirds empty since the last monster attack had been driven off a month ago, most people had better turnouts . Of course, there was another reason for the poor turn out as well.**

" **The rotten bastard couldn't send me an alimony check that didn't bounce but he took the time to put everything else in a trust for Eric. And he'd been missing for two months before he did it!" She ignored the reproving look Kristina Wu turned upon her." I swear , if he weren't dead, I'd kill him." The strawberry blonde angrily stalked off, dressed in a skin tight red dress with a slit up the side, showing her well tanned legs.**

" **You know, " Rex Hagen said with a hint of disgust in his deep voice, " she always reminded me of a lioness in heat, beautiful, but with big, sharp claws. And I believe she's on the prowl." He watched the woman as she seemed to sniff the air for the scent of a desperate man, preferably one with money.**

" **I can't believe she came to a funeral dressed like that, " murmured Octavia McHugh, her black hair in a bun, dressed in a simple black and white dress that went well with her olive complexion. "And if she hasn't been drinking , then I'm not standing here. **

" **I still can't believe Mike McGorrill died in a senseless accident like that, " Nelson McHugh spoke up from behind her, her raincoat in his hand. " You would think he'd have had the sense to get his brakes checked once in a while. " The tall man shook his head regretfully. " Such a stupid way to die."**

**Rex lowered his normally boisterous voice and asked, glancing about to make sure he wasn't over heard . " Are you sure it was an accident?"**

**Nelson replied in a serious tone, " It seems to have been on the up and up. The way she's been acting, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the first thought in my head when I heard the news. "**

**His wife looked shocked, " Nels, I'll admit I never cared much for Roslin, but surely she wouldn't had done that!"**

" **Sweetie, I've been a DA for eighteen years. Never assume someone is incapable of anything. They had as nasty a divorce as I've ever seen . She even tried to have him prosecuted for false pretenses when his check bounced. And the whole reason it did was he accidentally wrote it on their joint account, instead of his own. He paid her and the charges it accrued off. And when she as told Eric had everything left in a trust for him, she lost it. She barged into my office and wanted to know how to have him declared dead. When I told her it took seven years, I swear to God she was actually disappointed. " .**

" **Jesus, I knew she was ice hearted, but even at her worst, Diana has never given up hoping our Taylor was alive, " Rex said, referring to his wife, now in a mental institution. The loss of her daughter combined with addiction to anti depressants and a fondness for alcohol had led her to a complete breakdown. But it was plain her estranged husband still cared deeply for her.**

" **Has anyone heard anything else about the Jackson boy's mother?" asked Nelson as they walked in a group towards the exit.**

" **She's still on the grave list, " Kristina Wu said, freely shattering the HIPPA laws. " The poor woman slit her wrist and then drank cleaning chemicals. It's a miracle she lasted long enough to be put on life support. There's almost certainly brain damage. Even if she improves, she'll probably need around the clock care the rest of her life. "**

**Rex swore:" What a damn shame. At least the Twists and Fujimotos had the sense to leave LA. They're working in my Phoenix office now." It was left unsaid that Rex had also set up substantial endowments in the names of all of the missing and presumed dead children at Hartwell. He had been very busy, quietly aiding the people who had also lost children when the two planes had vanished.**

**They went to the parking lot and went to their separate vehicles. The rain poured steadily down.**

****************************************************************

"**Get Admiral Hades on the horn right now sailor!" barked Captain Dallas " Dally2" Hinton called Dally 2 because of the other Dallas down in the engineering room. said to the stunned young communication rating . The USS Raleigh Burke bounced up and down in the Pacific water like a toy as the half mile monster swam nearby. It's mere wake was enough to rattle the nine thousand ton vessel. **

" **I've tried sir, " Petty Officer Brent Hughes said , " but the Admiral's annoyed in Texas. Won't answer any calls." The rating frantically called out over the raio again and again, to no response.**

_**Damn, **_**Dally2 thought viciously, **_**why the hell send the theater commander to a meeting in frigging Houston , Texas. Bunch of REMF idiocy!**_

**The Captain came to a decision, " Better radio the station at LA. Tell 'em one of the big ones is coming there like angel of vengeance 8. They need to evacuate. Now."**

**The rating hurried to comply.**

*******************************************************************

**It was the proudest day of her life. She had just scored the biggest coup of her show's career . President Barack Obama walked onto the improvised stage on the third from the top floor of the Sears Tower for a special live anniversary show on Oprah Winfrey. The applause was almost deafening.**

**After she and her illustrious guest had exchanged greetings, a bored lighting tech walked over to the indo and idly looked out into the lake. It was stormy looking. Huge reddish black clouds were steadily gathering in the distance and he could actually feel the titanic building shiver slightly. **_**Whew, the wind must be really kicking up out there, **_**he thought idly. A lifelong Great Lakes sailor, he knew what it took to make the waves froth like they were doing. He saw a large cargo ship, at least five miles away that seemed to be foundering in the water. Suddenly, the ship seemed to almost be pulled under and then , impossibly, the hull suddenly flipped out of the water as a ungodly creature suddenly emerged from directly under it.**

**He never realized how close the Secret Service agent five yards away came to shooting him as he began screaming at the sight of a Cloverfield monster walking straight towards the Tower. **

**************************************************************

**It was a scene repeated over and over all over the world. In the ten other largest cities left, the great beasts appeared seemingly from nowhere, invariably heralded by the black and red clouds . In Buenos Aries, in Santiago, Sydney, Hong Kong, Rome. And panic as the immediate reaction. Never before had all of the monster attacked at once. And the other question on all of the military and political leader mind as where was the seemingly indestructible mother at?**

*****************************************************************

**Leilani spoke to Lex, who was now dressed in a royal blue malo. " You look fine, she said, reassuring the obviously nervous youth. **

" **I feel half naked. "he said in an aggrieved tone.**

**The Messenger spoke to him," When you have drank this elixer, you ill not feel the heat, no any discomfort Lex. You ill be completely relaxed ."**

**Lex asked softly: " Will it hurt?"**

**Lelani laughed gently: " Of course not. And you know Tagaloa-savali and I will be there, guiding you. It is necessary for us to first open the channels up in your mind . Then, we shall use your insights to determine our foe. And then, the true ceremony will begin. To destroy our foe."**

" **How will I do it? I mean, will I go all Super Saiyan like or something. Will I hit him with a love bomb or something?" he asked.**

" **Super Saiyan? I don't know that myth. Are they some new fad among humans?' The Messenger asked.**

**Lelani explained, " No, they are a cartoon, of sorts. Poor Tagaloa-savali doesn't get the chance to watch cartoons much Lex. " She traded grins with the boy, then grew serious. She finally explained it to Lex.**

" **After we enable you to access the power and have discovered our foe, our individual efforts will begin, all working towards our common goal. In the coming battle, you and Cody shall go to the chamber in the center of the temple. From there, the temple will act as a lens, incoming and outgoing. You will be able to draw all of the positive energies in the world and then, you ill expel that power, enhanced by your on power, but most of all, guided by your on sense of right and wrong. Your own love of your fellows and of life itself. Only one still pure in mind and body and with a strong enough will can do this. If not for the drugs and the fact that he has not only been raped but is willingly no longer a virgin would keep Cody from doing able this, if he could. But that is not his destiny, it is yours. And the temple will then send that power into the hearts of the beasts, for love is as a poison to them."**

**He asked: " But what about the other god, the bad one? Won't he try to stop us?"**

" **Of course. That is why the champions are here and why Jackson will stand guard with you. The dark one, who ever he is, cannot break the barriers to Earth unless the monsters win. Until then, he is forced to act through other agents."**

**Tagaloa -savali walked up, a cup of steaming liquid in it. " It is time to drink Lex."**

**Lex Marin took the hot cup and downed it swiftly. The Messenger helped him lie down. He was almost out of it in the ten seconds that took.**

**The last intelligible words he said before the potion took him into the lands of dreams were; " Will I see my dad?"**

" **Of course, he's already waiting for you." Leilani assured him as he closed his dark eyes.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Lost Soul

Day 82 : 12:45 p.m.

" I wish we had more time. I could get used to this, " Nathan said as he gently nuzzled Daley's bare shoulder, " how about you?"

Daley's red hair cascaded down her back as she shook her head. " We don't have any more time though, " a sliver of mischief crept into her eyes as she looked at him with barely sated lust, " besides, twice should be enough for our first time."

The two lovers stopped caressing one another and reluctantly stood up to dress. Daley still tended to hide her body, but Nathan moved like a man with his faith restored. He was completely comfortable as he paused, boxers in his hands as he spoke to Daley, who was now in her bra and panties. "I just knew somehow you'd be wearing granny panties. Man, as I wrong. Where did you get those?" he indicated the hot pink thong and bra Daley had on.

" Maria took me to Frederick's of Hollywood for my birthday. She said if you dress sexy, you feel sexy. Before that, I did wear kinda old fashioned things. " She had a smile on her face at the memory. It was one of the first really happy days she had had since her mother had passed away the year before. " If you like them, I'll let you buy me some more."

Nathan pulled his boxers on as he replied, " I will. If we get out of this." His face grew grim again. He finished dressing silently, then went to reverently pick Excalibur , secure in its scabbard, up from the mantle here in the temple of Zeus. He put it over his shoulder easily. Too easily for someone who still had fresh stitched barely holding his punctured shoulder together.

" How are you doing that? " Daley asked, " When we were making love, you were still sore enough, " she flushed at the memory. God, had she ever let her inhibitions down earlier!

Nathan grinned at the memory. _Never though I'd see her flustered like that. Well, it was all her idea, and I sure didn't mind being on the bottom. _" I think it's because of the scabbard, " he said, amused by her sudden attack of body modesty, " in a lot of the legends, if you have the scabbard, you can't die, no matter how hurt you are. All I know is every time I touch it, I feel fine."

Daley sent a wary look at him as she finished dressing, " Don't rely on that too much. We can't afford to take any chances we don't have to . Not with so much at stake." She finally finished. Nathan still had yet to put his shoes and socks on. She picked the quiver of Zeus up from the mantle. It gently hummed as she put it over her well built shoulders. " Hurry up slow poke. I want to see how Lex is ."

" You weren't complaining about me being a slow poke earlier, " he said, a salacious smirk on his face. He ducked as she made a threatening gesture , acting as if she were about to draw a thunderbolt from the quiver. " Hey , don't play with that! The thought of being hit with one of those things makes my hair stand on end."

********************************************************

Eric, Mel and Jackson had been preparing to go to the top of the temple as well. They had not spent the time indulging in the pleasures of the flesh. They had been talking, reassuring one another. Telling each other ho very much they meant to one another.

" When we finally get home, we're going to have to do something about your situation Eric, " Mel was informing him in no uncertain terms, " I mean it. Even if we have to get Mr. McHugh involved. You need away from your mom and she need serious mental help. " She was standing at the foot of the steps, both young men of either side. Jackson had a arm around her shoulder, Eric was sitting on the top step, his head leaned against her leg as she put a gentle hand on his bare head. His hat was in his hands. He had, at Jackson's gentle insistence, told her of the ordeal at home. And after he had been comforted, Cody had confessed his actions on the other Earth to them. If ever they had seen him uncomfortable in their company, it had been then.

He had admitted to having sex with Zack Powers. The first time truly hadn't been his fault; he had arrived in that body while it's owner, Noah, had been indulging in oral sex with the manipulative boy. That hadn't even fazed them. The admission that he had endured around of very sadomasochistic sex and willingly taped himself doing it had been another matter. Both of them had been furious, but not for the same reasons.

Mel had really lost her temper for the first time with him after that: " You must've been out of your mind! You had kinky, unprotected sex with a guy who sounds like he would have screwed a snake if someone had held it's head. You, or Noah, could have caught God knows what! And if you had been stuck there, you might have died from AIDS or something."

Eric had been mad too. " You couldn't have just taped him naked, you had to have sex with him. And Mel's right, I get nervous sometimes knowing you weren't a virgin when Russell had us have sex Cody. " A hurt look had spread across Jackson's face at that reminder. He had yet to ever discuss his on loss of virginity for under the eyes of the law, the other person had been a legal adult, if only by a matter of a year. And he would probably have hurt Jackson badly if the truth had ever came out.

" One of the first things we all have to do is get tested when we get home, " Cody admitted with a sigh.

Eric had realized how his statement had hurt his friend. " I'm sorry. And it's not like I ever tried to abstain after the fact. Hell, I jumped your bones every chance I got, " he said grinning, trying to lighten the mood.

" Me too," Mel had added, " none of us went into this with our eyes shut. If we have anything , it's our on fault."

Fortunately, most of the conversation had been on easier topics.

Jackson looked at his watch. " It's time to go." he said.

They turned and went up the steps together.

***************************************************************

The five of them met on the top of the temple . Tagaloa-savali and Leilani were on either side of an apparently sleeping Lex. Their eyes were closed and Jackson noticed ho their breathing seemed to be in sync with one another. He noticed something else too. Taylor wasn't there. He looked at the steps. There was no sign of her. He looked at his watch and cursed. " Shit! Where is she at?" At his words, Daley spoke up.

" Has anyone seen Taylor in the last hour?"

Eric , Nathan and Mel shook their heads in the negative.. Jackson stood there, face red and hands on his hips as he made a snap decision. " Everyone but Mel, let's run check around. She may have gotten distracted by something. Mel, " he commanded, " Tell them Taylor is missing and we're looking for her. Let's go get her and hurry. We have a fight to in."

******************************************************

Taylor was walking in the jungle by the edge of the temple. She as deliberately staying just far enough in for the dense foliage to block her from casually seeing the temple. She had a million things running through her mind at once. The idea of being in a fight with the fate of the world in the balance was just too much for her. And the responsibility for the deaths if they failed, it had nearly driven her into the fugue state she had went into once before, after a monsoon had hit the island they had first been stranded on. And so, she was walking . Doing anything, really, to try to get her mind to work right. That was why she didn't notice the footsteps behind her.

" Taylor! Taylor!. Where could she have gotten to?!" Nathan asked Daley in frustration. They had maybe six minutes left before Lex's potential as to be released. They didn't have time for this kind of junk now! Daley ignored him as she continued calling the blonde's name out.

Jackson was running as hard and fast as he could, but he had seen no sign of the young woman. _Dammit Taylor, here are you? We can't do this with any of us not here and hope to get out alive. Please come back; I know you're no coward. _He kept looking.

"AHHH!!!" Taylor screamed as hands grabbed her shoulders.

" What are you doing Taylor?!" an exasperated Eric asked, looking so bizarre Taylor laughed at him,; he had leaves and shoots all in his hat and even in his hair that was sticking out from under it. " We need you back at the temple." He wasn't even breathing hard, she noticed. Nor sweating, like she was.

"I don't know, " her voice trailed off.

" You don't know what?' Eric asked , trying to guide her back in the direction of the temple, but she wasn't budging.

" I don't know if I can do it. I'm not brave like Cody, or Mel, or Nathan. Or you for that matter." She said it in a matter of fact voice.

Eric locked eyes with her, furious at her apparent self centeredness. And then, he saw in them something he'd seen in his on reflection all too many times. A look of quiet, desperate lonliness. It was not a look he ever expected to see in her green eyes. He swiftly hugged his friend tight and embraced her trembling form as her barriers came crashing down.

" I'm scared Eric! And I don't really have anyone to turn to. You're lucky, you have two people. Daley has Lex and Nathan. Me and Lex are really close, but he's too young to talk to and I don't want to mess things up for Jackson with Mel. Or you."

" Taylor, you could have always talked to me, " he gently chided her, " or you could have after I quit chasing you like a horny mutt. "he smiled at her. " I must have driven you crazy."

" Yeah, you did, " she confessed, " but I let you . And I used you as much as you were using me. But you're different now. Mel and Jackson have changed you. You've gron up. And I like the man you're turning into."

Eric couldn't help it, he had to ask:" Are you saying that now you think I'm attractive?" Far from the jokes he expected or even an admission of attraction, she began crying even harder.

" Tay, please tell me what's wrong, ' he asked, almost in tears himself at the agony she seemed to be in .

She pulled away, then turned and looked at him: " I've always be able to get any guy I wanted. Nathan, Mark, I probably would have wound up with Jackson if everything hadn't happened. But I didn't really try. I never tried to keep any of my boyfriends for the same reason my brother never did before he ran away from home ten years ago. I'm gay Eric. I'm a lesbian."

Eric's jaw dropped. " But why run away now? Just because of that?!"

" Because I don't want to die with my family believing a lie. And my friends. I should have at least told the rest of you, after all we've been through and now, I don't have time."

" Taylor, we need you now. The rest of us. The whole frigging world needs you. And guess what, " he had a grim smile on his sharp featured face, " The rest of the world probably doesn't care that two bisexual guys, a raped straight guy, a forced into bisex and dating two bi guys girl, another straight girl forced into bi sex who's dating the raped guy and a ten year old are trying to save their asses. They just need 'em saved! Fuck what people think about you. We love you and we need you Tay. Please?" He held a hand out to his friend.

She shook her head, tears still on her face and took it.

The others were on the top of the temple and seemed ready to explode when Eric came running up, amazingly carrying Taylor.

" Well, I guess part of my gift means I really don't get tired . Even toting a rampaging lesbian up a thousand steps!"

" Lesbian, " Mel gurgled as Taylor nodded her head.

" Yeah, it's just one of my many issues." she said with a dazzling smile, which faded at a nose from the three at the alter.

Lex Marin sat straight up and screamed a name before collapsing back, crying uncontrollably:

"AMATSU MIKABOSHI!"

**********************************************************

In the hut of Lelani, Richard Russell sat cross-legged on the floor. Blood poured from his punctured hands as he chanted the prayer Amatsu Mikaboshi had taught him as the black gem on Leilani's necklace glowed as red as the blood. He finished the chant and turned at a noise.

Behind him stood his dead twin, Robert Russell, with eyes that seemed more like holes onto a colorless vacuum.

" Let's go have some fun, little brother." the dead man said as he offered his living twin a hand up.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

The Face of The Enemy

Day 82 : 1 p.m.

The six others rushed to the alter at the cry from Lex. The normally dark skinned young Latino boy was almost ashen. He was crying like he was an infant. His sister as the first to his side as Tagaloa-savali and Leilani both stood there saying, drained from some unseen and unknown efforts.

Daley Marin cradled her ten year old stepbrother in her arms as she sat on the edge of the alter beside him. She patted at his back as he pressed his face into her chest, sobbing. " What was it Lex, what happened to you?" she asked in fear, trying to keep her own voice level. Lex couldn't speak for the crying and shivering, but Tagaloa-savali did, still seemingly out on his feet as Nathan and Eric steadied him.

" He saw the face of our foe at last . And he also saw just what the Great Enemy, who we now know to be Amastu Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of evil, plans to leave on this and each of the other Earths. Show them Leilani!" he commanded. And for the first time, the youths saw just why a ninety year old woman as the ghuardian of the island as she cast her arms wide and spoke:

" See the fate our foe would bring to pass!"

And images flooded into their minds. Images of monsters ripping the flesh of of living infants while monstrous demons raped their watching parents. Of father and mothers willingly sacrificing their children to the dark god Amatsu Mikaboshi in order to gain more of the Subversion and Perversion. Of parents raping children of both sexes and children raping one another. Of murders of every type and description. Of wars breaking out between countries to gain more children and more drugs. And of the Great Mother beast leading an army of over a hundred monsters , leveling whole nations in the space of days and finally, of a terrified humanity destroying itself in a nuclear nightmare as they tried to destroy the monsters .

And of their parents and loved ones being personally raped and tortured to death by the Russell twins, while their children were forced to watch, and even worse, to join in. And then, finally, of the seven of them turning on one another with the last of them, Lex, finally being eaten alive by the Japanese death god.

Eric took three steps and went to his knees, vomiting. Taylor went to his side, but was too stunned to even speak. Nathan looked like he wanted to do the same thing as Eric. Mel and Cody both held one another for a moment, then went to help to help Eric back up. Daley held onto Lex as though her life depended on it. And then, Lex finally spoke.

" I thought I was seeing Dad at first. He was just standing there, smiling at me. And then, in the vision, he , he.." And then the tears came again as Lelani walked over to put a hand on Daley's arm.

" Our enemy struck Lex here he was most vulnerable. He created an image of your father that tried to rape Lex in the dream state he was in. What he was not expecting was what happened then."

Lex drew in a shuddering breath. Daley looked down into her stepbrothers tearstained face. He still looked like he had been scared almost to death, but there was a look of wonder in his haunted eyes as well.

He told his tale briefly. " It was like a dream where you know you're dreaming. I could hear the seven god, the Messenger and Lelani in my head, guiding me through dark clouds. I couldn't see anything but weird shapes. Then I realized I could feel emotions. Of hate, fear and what I think was lust. At least that what the gods told me when I asked. And then, when I thought I'd go crazy from it all, there was a light in front of me and out stepped my dad."

" At leat that's what I thought. He hugged me and called me by my name and then, " his voice cracked from the immense strain, he started touching me here he shouldn't. I pushed him away and he knocked me don and strated trying to hurt me. And that was when the voices all told me to call for the one I trusted most and it happened. My dad, my real dad shoed p and pulled me loose. And the thing that looked like him started laughing at me and turned into some sort of demon."

" Amatsu Mikaboshi." Lelani spoke with disgust and loathing in her voice. " The lord of the dead in the ancient Japanese myths. Much like Satan in the Christian religeon, but , if anything, more destructive. And less principled."

" That's what he said. He said we would die in the worst ways imaginable. And then, my dad kissed me on the forehead and left. He said he had come back to tell me to be strong. And to remember that he loved me and all of my friends and family did too." He looked at Lelani: " What do we do next, Lelani?"

" We fight. You and Cody shall descend into the crytal heart of the temple of the Seven, here you cannot leave until the battle is decided one ay or the other. The other five shall guard this temple , myself and Tagloa-savali, for we shall be aiding all seven of you." She walked to the center of the temple and Tagaloa-savali joined her there.

" In this battle, I will be the living shield, the first line of defense. I will become a living barrier to the Great Mother. The four of you shall be the third." She indicated all of them but Taylor."

" What will I be doing?" she asked in a timid voice.

" You, dear one, will be atop the temple with us, for you and you alone shall see when the time is right to sound your doomsday trumpet. " the Messenger said to her ith a grim smile. " And I shall be busy as well , for I will be the second line of defense, fighting the Sokil, the smaller monsters and thinning their ranks. I am not a great lord, but, weak, I am not." he flexed an immense arm of his own, a grin on his face.

"It is time. Jackson, Lex, stand on the alter and it will descend. Hurry, for the Great Mother approaches with the storm, " she indicated the jet black clouds laced with red lighting rapidly selling forwards, "and our time of battle is upon us. "

The two of them went ot the dais and stood. If slowly sank under their feet.

" I love you two, " Jackson said to his lovers as they sank.

" Love you Day." Lex said, waving to the others as he shrank from sight.

Moments later, the stone floor closed over them soundlessly.

Lelani spoke her final instructions to them: "Nathan, to the east, Melissa to the East, Eric to the North and Daley, to the South, that is to say, the front. A fitting place for your weapons with a clear field of fire. As soon as I form the barrier, go."

The woman kahuna raised her arm over her head and chanted an ancient prayer. The air seemed to respond, swirling over her , slowly at first, then with steadily growing power. The wind passed over them and spread. In moments, it enveloped the temple, but it didn't stop there. In less than a minute, a whirlwind had enveloped everything within a quarter mile of the island. And it centered on Lelani.

" What could get through that/" Daley said aloud.

" The Sokil can and already have, the Messenger said as he started down the steps, pointing into the jungle. Sure enough, they could see movement there. The sort of movement only dozen of bodies together could make.

" Postion yourselves children. It is time!" And with that, the form of Little J disappeared and was replaced by that of an ancient Samoan warrior king. He had had a spear and a shield in his hands.

He was also at least twenty feet tall. He jumped to the clearing in a single bound just as a dozen monsters sprang from the jungle.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Hell Breaks Loose

Day 82: Early Afternoon

In Chicago, there was panic in the streets as the monster rampaged through the riverfront. In the Sears Tower, the Secret Service and the security teams of the building and of Oprah Winfrey were on the verge of being crushed as the entire audience, along with everyone else in the tower with a working brain, were battling to escape as the leviathan steadily came towards it.

" Gail, tell them to get the jet ready, " the talk show queen demanded of her best friend and number one flunky, " we're getting the hell outta here! Move your ass outta my way," she said, jostling the tall, attractive woman in front of her, knocking her headfirst into a wall.

Michelle Obama slid to the floor even as her lead agent tackled the panicking Winfrey. And was tackled in turn by Winfreys' flunky Gail. An all out brawl was started even as the President finally entered the elevator.

***************************************************************

On the beaches of Los Angeles, the evacuation was under way yet again. This time, it wasn't a trio of "small" hundred foot high monsters spawned from one of the lesser females, it was an attack by the Father . While not as imposing as his mate, he was still a very respectable twenty four hundred feet in height. And he was getting angrier by the moment as the tiny prey he sought attacked from two different vessels , USN Arleigh Burke class destroyers. The cannon and the missiles were about as effective as spitballs against a tank, but the order to attack had come and attack they did.

Which proved their undoing as the behemoth casually ripped the USS Mason apart, effortless shredding her five hundred foot hull like a child would tissue. The Chaffee, her sister ship tried to come to a turn to avoid them, but in a move that belied the tremendous creature's mass, it leaped upon the ship. Smashing it like it was made of spun glass. The explosion of the destroyed ships engines bothered it not at all. It went in hunt of more satisfying prey.

It was a scene repeated across the world as the monster attacked anything and everything that came across their paths. Near Virginia beach, the same monster that had first appeared, the destroyer of New York appeared. Although actually barely an adolescent of it's species, it was, if anything, the most vicious of the males of the type. It smashed it's way into the shipyards, flinging half completed hulls like toys. And scores of the lesser parasites rained down as it rampaged, attacking anyone or anything it their path.

Dark clouds with red lighting now covered almost half of the world as , on an uncharted island deep in the South Pacific, the true battle had begun.

********************************************************

She had been their leader in a time before the tragedies had decimated their ranks for the strength of her will and Daley Marin proved that strength as she saw the Messenger , grown to a giant's size, attack a dozen of the Sokil by himself. He smote them with a spear as tall as he was, flinging the others back with his equally gigantic shield. Her red hair whipped in the storm spawned wind as she saw another cluster of the monsters coming out of the jungle and approaching the temple. She took six steps forward from the edge of the temple's base and reached into the quiver of Zeus. A golden thunderbolt was in her right hand as she glared into the enemy. It filled her hand with a hum of power as she drew her arm back and flung it at the center of the small group as she cried out to her foes, " This is for my brother!" And what had been a two foot piece of worked bronze transformed into a three pronged bolt of lightning that lit up the small valley as the six monsters exploded under the onslaught of the champion of the Thunderer himself.

" Well done Child!" the Messenger called out as he flung on of the beasts from where it had been impaled on his spear, sending it crashing with bone shattering force into two of its fellows. He turned and went in pursuit of more victims as Daley stared in awe at her hand, a faint smell of ozone drifting up from it. _We can do this. For the first time, I think we can really do this!_ she thought. Then, she saw more monster creeping from the woods and , with a grin on her face, she reached into the quiver again.

On the East side of the Temple, Nathan McHugh as nervously standing there, Excalibur in his hand. And the very thought of him doing that went through his head, bringing a wry smile to his face. _Dad always said, be careful hat you wish for, you just might get it! Well, I always anted to be in a battle like the old knights; man, did I ever get it! _And then , he saw a trio of the lesser monsters trying to sneak up on his even as a second flash of lighting lit up the sky from the other side of the clearing. _I see Daley's started the game for our side; let's see if I can't keep us in play._ The smile left his face as he advanced, the sword held high, his wounds not a factor as the enchanted scabbard kept him from feeling any injuries as long as it as on him. The monster came closer, trying to encircle him. They danced around for a moment, then, finally, one sprang at him.

Excalibur glittered in the flash of lighting as it cleft the monster in half virtually effortlessly. And then, Nathan pressed the attack on the other two as Tagaloa -savali, who was making circles of the temple to aid them came by, calling out.

" Well done young knight, well done!" The giant smashed a fourth monster into paste as it sprang from the foliage.

On the East Side of the temple, Melissa Wu bore more than a passing resemblance to a goddess of old as she stood there shining . _I've heard older people talk about getting a "glow" on, but this is crazy! And just what is this supposed to do? _A question that answered itself as one of the monster suddenly jumped from the jungle and charged the clearing towards her. As she said a silent prayer for Cody and Eric even as the fear skyrocketed in her, the love that prayer was born from made the light a hundred times brighter.

The monster exploded into gory bits and pieces as the light of love flashed over it.

On the North side, Eric as facing off a duo of the monsters himself. And as absolutely loving another discovery he had made. " Ha ha, you can run but you can't hide, " the cinnamon haired youth taunted as plunged a hand into the closer monster and let go of the piece of rock he had in his fist. The shock of the rock penetrating it drove the creature mad. In it's fury and pain, it attacked the other monster ho had been trying to get out of it's way

The first monster he had killed had jumped at him the second it had gotten into range. And to both their amazement, it passed right through Eric. He could touch it; it couldn't touch him. Even when he stumbled on the bottom steps and fell after the second one had jumped at him, he received not a single scratch. And he had discovered that anything he hit them with, if he anted it to, went into it, instead of merely hitting it's hide.

He had been bullied enough in his life, now, it as his turn to do the bullying and he did so with gusto as the Messenger strode near, casually destroying four more monsters as Eric fought on laughing all the while.

On the top of the temple, Taylor Hagen stood. The wind whistled by as she snuggled up in Eric's jacket. She put her hands in the pocket and almost screamed. His spare adrenaline injector as there and the rustle of the rapper had startled her. _Man, I gotta keep it under control! I'm supposed to blow my horn when I think the time is right, but there ha to be more to this fight than this. We're slaughtering them too easy._ And then, as she raced from one vantage point to the other her words proved prophetic as the Second wave came in.

There were at least five hundred of the monsters in it. Easily ten times what they had already fought and the Mother hadn't gotten here yet.

In the jungle, near the edge of the clearing , the two Russells, one living, one dead , watched.

" When do we go?" Richards asked his brother, anticipation making him anxious. " Amatsu Mikaboshi promised us we'd be like kings if we did this!"

Robert Russell silenced his brother with a slash of the hand, " Quiet! We have to take the necklace to the top to do this. We have to wait for the Mother to attack, so the brats are distracted. Then, we use it to go to the crystal heart of the temple. Once we're there , we use this on the kid."

He held up a weapon, an ancient tsai, jet black with three sharp blades. It had a jade with a red spot like blood in the center. " When the brat ha the blade in his heart, his death is supposed to corrupt the temple. Instead of being a lens for good, it'll draw Mikaboshi there instead."

Richard complained bitterly : " I wanted to have the kid before we killed him. Damn it, I was promised. "

" No one said we couldn't have fun with the tWo of them first, so long as they die in the next hour ." Robert said consoling his brother. " I plan on making Jackson pay for what he did, for killing me. And I'm sure our three unexpected friends here ill help with that, won't you , slaves."

Abby, Ian and Jory nodded their heads, their eyes colorless vacuums like Bob Russell's as they awaited their masters commands.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

The Heart of Tagaloa

Day 82 Early Afternoon

Major Susannah" Sugar 144" Frost loved her job and her position as the first and best female fighter jock in the USAF. Nothing excited her like flying her F22, " Chrono-contract", the afterburners pushing and loaded for bear. She had Slammer, Hellfire and Mavericks all loaded on board. She was in the lead of a four man group making a run at the beast heading currently heading towards Laguna Beach. She let out a whoop as the four of them dove as they had planned, bracketing the monster in their crosshairs: " Eat shit and die motherfucker! " the 144pound woman screeched as she and the others sent a total of twenty four missiles of various type slamming into the entity. Multiple mushrooms of destruction bloomed into the air as it as bathed in fire and shrapnel. G forces slapped her into her seat as they pulled three gs in a almost impossible climb upwards. Seconds later, the four jet arced across the sky , looking for the monster.

Which was standing in the midst of the devastation completely unharmed.

" Damn, somebody get me my darts. Maybe we'd have better luck with them," she cursed as the monster looked at them. If anything, it actually seemed disappointed, like it wanted to test it's power against a worthy foe and had yet to find one. " Let's get back to the base. Maybe the brass has another ace up their sleeve, but this hand went bust." They speed towards home.

" Get the Hell off me, " Oprah huffed as the female Secret Service agent held her pinned to the carpet outside the elevator. Another one, a smallish Oriental looking man had almost casually knocked her best friend Gail out cold with an Asp, the telescoping billy club the SS used in close combat. Michele Obama was being carried by her lead agent as the security teams of the Sears tower, Winfrey's own team and the remaining half of the Secret Service squared off. " I have a right to escape , " she howled as the building shook to the rapidly approaching colossuses footsteps." You can't just bully me, I'm Oprah Winfrey!" she said to the oriental man ho looked at her like she as a piece of dung on the bottom of his shoes.

" You look more like Jack the Shit to me lady. Damn, I told the Chief to go on the Steve Wilkos show, not your damn dinosaur of one. Jesus, even Jerry Springer wouldn't have hit the First Lady."

The building suddenly rocked like a rowboat in a hurricane as the moment finally came. A earsplitting roar shattered windows as the tremendous thing , so tall it dwarfed the fourteen hundred foot structure, reached down and effortlessly knocked the top thirty floors almost a mile away with a single sat of it's paws. Thus ended the career of a American legend.

By a scant six seconds, the Marines helicopter has taken off with Barack Obama on board. His words could have chilled Charles Manson himself with their intensity. " Damn Oprah Winfrey. Damn her to Hell. Michelle!!!!!"

He called her name out the entire trip to the airport, here Air Force 1 aaited him.

On an island eight thousand miles away, the champions of life were fighting the battle of their young lives.

Daley held her ground, flinging bolt after bolt in the midst of the monster. So far, none had even came close to her in the face of her wrath.

Eric was covered in the blood and ichor of his enemies. No larger than most of his foes, in fact, smaller than some, he was taking a unique approach to the battle. He would run a third of the way up and bodily dive into the monster, like an obscene mosh pit, reaching in no and ripping the hearts out of the beasts.

Nathan was covered in their enemies blood as well, but Excalibur was still bright as the day it was forged. The Messenger was by his side at the moment, his spear flashing in the air, smashing scores of monster in seconds.

Mel's side was almost as deadly to the monsters as Daley's. her pure light was simply too much for them. They had surrounded her, but couldn't approach any further. A sphere of light barred the way, instantly slaying any Sokil that dared to touch it.

Taylor still walked from side to side on the temples peak, the Gjallor Horn in her grip. So far, she hadn't needed to use it. _We're doing ok so far, but when the big one gets here…_

Cody and Lex stood in the living crystal heart of the temple. According to Tagaloa -savali, it was made from the heart of Tagaloa itself. It was a living lens for the power contained in Lex's small body. Jackson turned to Lex and asked : " Do you know what you're supposed to do now?" he asked his companion.

" yes. I found out from my dad, in the vision. " He walked to the center of the room and touched the crystal floor. Instantly, it shifted and a small crystal alter raised up from it. Lex hopped up and laid don on it, crossing his arms on his chest. He turned his head to Jackson and explained.

" It will take a while. The power has to build up while I think about the people I love and care about. Dad said that my mind would reach out and touch them all first, then I'd be strong enough to reach out to everyone else. And that when it built up enough, I'd be able to send it back out and that the monsters would die, when it as strong enough. And that the barrier would be sealed when the last of the creation of Set , Nox and Amatsu Mikaboshi died. And that you had a role in that too." he shook his shoulders at Jackson's expression, " Sorry Cody, they didn't give me an instruction manual to this ."

Jackson laughed grimly, " It's all right Lex. Just do your part and I'll be here if anything gets through.. I love you ." he walked over and ruffled Lex's jet black hair, then, in a move whose tenderness surprised them both, he gently kissed the boy who was less than a son but more than a brother to him on the forehead. " Remember, we all love you."

Lex reached over and touched Jackson's hand, " I love you too Cody. And all of the others. I need to do it no."' he sadi, leaning back on the alter and closing his eyes.

For a long moment, Jackson could detect nothing. Then, he could hear a faint noise, like the beating of a heart. He noticed the white light in the room growing in intensity, gaining an electric blue glow to it. And it pulsed in tune to the beating of Lex's heart.

He stood vigil over Lex, knowing something would eventually happen, but not knowing what.

" When the third wave comes and the Mother is attacking the old woman's barrier, that's when we make our move, " Bob Russell told his brother. Richard was still unnerved by the slaves, the resurrected three teens from the first island.

" Where did they come from?" he asked, sounding disgusted as the animated dad teens looked at him impassively.

Bob snarled: " From our master. Don't you realize, anyone who ever took the drugs is under his control but the kids on this island. Something about this place keeps them from being under his influence no, probably the other gods here. But, " he went on , ignoring the puzzled look on his twin's face, " all you need to kno is that once these three go in and break Jackson's spirit, then, the master can send us in to kill them. They don't have souls, they're just like puppets, but they have the memories of the kids and they do and say what I tell 'em too. I wonder how he'll react to a few well placed words from three people he thinks he let die for him?"

Comprehension dawned in Richard Russell's eyes. " Oh, let the mind games begin!"

He laughed as the third waves came up behind them and he could hear the roar of the rapidly approaching Great Mother.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

The Mother Arrives

Day 82 : Early Afternoon

Daley paused for a split second as the roaring noise hit her ears even over the crash and booms of the lightning she was flinging. She felt terror in her heart at the thought of what the creature would do if it breached the barrier Lelani had cast over the small isle. At how effortlessly it could crush them, even with their gifts from the gods of myth. And she retreated two more steps towards the top of the temples as more and more monster crowded her despite the carnage she had wrought amongst them.

And it was a scene repeated on the other three sides of the temple as well as, despite the best efforts of the youth as well as the giant Tagaloa-savali, they were slowly being forced to the top of the steps by the sheer eight of their foes. Just as their enemies wanted.

" It's almost time, " Bob Russell growled, hate twisting his broad, grizzly face, "when she gets to the barrier and start attacking it, the Sokil will charge. And when they do, this necklace, with the Stone of Set in it, it'll let us go in the passageway into the Heart of Tagaloa. And then, we'll send our three slaves here in first, to soften Jackson up. And when they're done, me and you will go in and get the job done." he said to his twin, Richard, who was watching the action with a look of deep concentration.

His face was lit up momentarily by a flash of lightning as Daley blasted a twenty foot gap in the ranks of the monsters. He didn't bother replying to his older brother. He merely nodded his assent as the cry of the approaching Mother assailed their ears again as she reached the barrier at last.

The hideous six legged beast slammed headlong into the whirling barrier like a runaway aircraft carrier. Thirty foot waves splashed up from the vibrations.

On the top of the temple, Lelani moaned under the enormous impact. She swayed like a branch in a storm as Taylor rushed to steady her,

And was thrown back by a miniature barrier which sprang into being around the aged kahuna. Taylor gingerly rose to her feet, the horn still clasped in her right hand. As she stood, she asked aloud, " What was that for? I was trying to help you!" She had an outraged look on her tanned face.

Leilani reprimanded her, " Keep your attention on the battle girl; I am not nearly as helpless as you think. My barriers will only hold until the battle in won or lost in the chamber below if my attention is not divided!" At that, she turned her focus skywards once more. Taylor gave her one last look, then went back to watching as her four fiends were slowly forced upwards by the sheer eight of numbers .

The Russell twins smiled at one another as a second attack on the barrier came, more ferocious than the first. This time, Lelani nearly fell to her knees.

" Looks like the witch is starting to fade, " Richard Russell commented with a smirk, " and I see more of your little friends are here, " he indicated the rustling bushes as more if the small monster poured out by the second. " There must be a couple of thousand of them here by now."

" They aren't what will really distract them. The real distraction will arrive in just a few seconds. More old friends coming for a visit." He turned around and sure enough, five familiar forms emerged from the verdant surroundings.

Doctor and Mark Watson, Mac Hale, Saburo Sakai and Dingo stood there. Their eyes were the same vacuum as the Elder Russell and the three reanimated teens were. " I don't think they would like seeing them again, do you?" Bob said with a chuckle.

"How are you doing all of this?" Richard asked as his slaver crew walked up to them. " Is it that jewel?"

" It's no jewel, idiot, " Bob snarled, " it really is the eye of Set, the father of the Great Mother. He had seers and oracles of his own and Amastu Mikaboshi and him were allies even back then. The seven gods scattered Set's body across the Earth, but Amastu Mikaboshi found the Eye. He knew that with the power of two gods of death, he'd have a chance. And he knew he'd never be allowed to come here, so he sent the jewel instead. He gave it to the idiot Messenger for " safeguarding" . The moron never realized that putting it here meant they had already allowed evil on the island."

" He set them up, " Richard summarized simply. He snorted, " Sneaky. I like it."

"They won't. " Bob turned and looked at the five zombied slavers and commanded as the entire island seemed to shake as the Mother flung herself bodily onto the barrier, impossibly hanging there for a moment before sliding off. " Go! She's about to start the real attack!" The slaver zombies rushed to obey.

" We need to get ready, we'll only have a minute to go and we can't risk being seen." Robert said as he walked to the very edge of the clearing. His brother and his slaves followed and got into position to run.

Five thousand Sokil charged the temple at once.

*************************************************************

In the heart of the temple, Cody Jackson was nervously pacing as the crystal walls softly hummed with growing power as Lex lay there, apparently simply sleeping. His tiny face had an unusually tense look to it. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be taking all of his strength. He crossed the tiny chamber for the fiftieth or sixtieth time as he waited for something to happen. Anything. And suddenly, the chamber rocked an what felt like an earthquake shook the chamber.

The Mother had backed up nearly two miles before charging the barrier again. Her earlier attacks had obviously been only tests, looking for a weak point. Now, she careened into it with the force of a tactical nuclear weapon.

Seventy foot breakers smashed into the shore at the impact and Lelani sank to her aged knees as she valiantly fought to hold her ground.

The four teens were nearly at the top of the stairs. They had been forced back after the last impact as the jungle seemed to explode ith the little monsters. Tagaloa -savali alone was able to stay as far as a third of the way don an even he was on the verge of being overtaken. They were finally close enough to shout to one another.

" We can't keep this up forever Daley, " Nathan yelled as he sliced monster after monster to bits with Excalibur, " we're being flooded with them!"

Eric joined in as he grabbed a monster's head and put his fist in to it, releasing a stone into its brain. " it's like tryin to hold back a flood with a paper towel!"

Daley mind raced as she blasted foe after foe down. Fortunately, the quiver seemed to never run out of thunderbolts. In fact, they seemed to be getting stronger as she got madder. _Good for me, bad for them, _she thought as she sent a blast don that zig zagged madly into the throng, electrocuting at least fifty of the monsters at once. _But that's not even a drop in a bucket. Too bad we don't have a shield of them to back up Leilani, _she thought as another impact rocked them and the elderly woman ent to her knees yet afain with a cry of pain.

Melissa Wr looked like a second sun as she shined her light on the monsters. She was still a step belo the others. The monsters seemed loath to even attack her. But then, her light dimmed as she saw something. Or rather , someone, several someones, in the midst of the monsters. " OHMIGOD!" she cried out in horror.

" What is it Mel?" Eric called out as he passed through one monster after another, pausing in each long enough to squeeze their hearts. The ones it didn't kill, it sent into shock.

" IT"S THE WATSONS! And the rest of the slavers!"

" What?!" Daley called out in disbelief, flinging to thunderbolt at once, one from either hand. The double blast actually cleared a small section clear, long enough for her to risk a glance at Mel's side of the temple.

It really was them. All five of them. And they were ignoring the monster, walking between them slowly towards the back of the temple.

Mark Watson began running towards the top in a mad charge. The others split up, carefully going everywhere but to the front as the barrier flashed red under another assault. They succeeded in their purpose even as Daley threw the most powerful bolt she dared right at Doctor Watson. He explored into red mist as the blast took his corpse away from the earth.

Nathan lost it completely at the sight of Dingo. He literally dove into the charging zombie even as Mel sent a ray of light after him, incinerating a dozen monsters to try to cover him. " Let's see how you like being stuck!" he snarled as he swung the blade. He stabbed Dingo through the heart, pulled it out, and in a spinning slash, decapitated the moving corpse, which exploded as the Doctors had done.

In the confusion, no one noticed the Russells and the slaves running into the unguarded front.

Eric and Mark met. Eric let Mark have one free shot. The psychopathic jock struck Eric's head with a blow that would have killed him, before this day.

Eric waggled a finger in front of his enemies nose , " Nuh Uh! You've been giving me headaches for a year, now it's my turn!" He sent his middle ginger into Mark's head and went solid with it. Mark was instantly gone in an explosion of black magical power. " Well, no need to go to pieces over it, " Eric quipped as he returned to the top of the temple.

Mel as silent in her battle. She was through with playing nice. The light of a sun shone from her and Mac Hale and Saburo Sakai became human torches in the face of her love of her friends and family. The power of Kane conquered them . As before, they exploded.

Eric summed it up instantly: " What was that supposed to accomplish?"

And then, with a howl of pain, Lelani passed out as the island shook . The barrier crumbled as the Mother finally shattered it.

Jackson suddenly felt a unexplainable tingling in his body. He felt the living walls shake. The light flickered for a moment, went black. And hen it came back, he was not alone.

Ian Milbauer, Jory Twist and Abby Fujimoto stood before him, the wounds that had killed them still on their bodies. Abby's shot eye socket now had a colorless void in it as did her other.

" You shouldn't have let us die Jackson. Now it's time to pay." Abby said as she slowly advanced towards him.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

World At War

Day 82

Los Angeles

The four F22s were racing back over towards the rampaging monster, this time escorting a far larger friend. The B-2 was not an aircraft seen often in daylight, but she was still an impressive sight. The jet black bomber sliced through the air like a great obsidian arrow, her vaguely bat like form intimidating in some deeply primeval way.

Of course, the nearly half mile monster five miles ahead of them was fairly impressive too.

Sugar144 led the attack. She was loaded with AMRAAMS, as were the three others and they all knew they would be about as effective as spitball. The true purpose of the attack would be to try to position the monster, to goad it into making one of the leaping attacks that had made helicopter and A-10 attacks against it a sure form of suicide. The B-2 had the true weapon aboard, the aptly named Angel of Vengeance(8).

Back in the Cold War, the eapons geniuses had came up with an idea to take out the Russian carriers and battle cruisers with a non nuclear weapon with one shot. The AoV was a fragmentation bomb like weapon. That was tech that had been around for eighty years. The new bells and whistles came from three other things:

A. The missile had a top speed of around Mach 17. Not exactly crawling.

B. It's nose was full of tempered depleted uranium slugs, the hardest and most dense metal on earth. And at mach 17, it would be like a blast from God's own shotgun.

C: It also ejected a shaped charge of 55000 degree plasma as it sent the slugs in.

They had tested one on a mountain three times the size of the monster in front of them. The mountain lost in a landslide. It was now jokingly called the Angel's Pit. It was four hundred feet deep. The new one was 7 generations improved over that.

" On my mark, " Sugarr144 snarled, "Three, To, One, Mark!" Her trigger finger twitched and she ripple fired her four missiles and arced away in a left turn. The G Forces made her see red as she pulled away. Her wingmen followed, Shadowlev, Lovelee and CallaArgenue fired in sequence, trailing barely a thousand feet over it as it bellowed defiance at the stinging attackers. And then, it visibly tensed as they passed back over at a leisurely three hundred knots.

" Come on you big ugly bastard, fucking do it!" Sugar144 rasped.

As if it heard her, the creature leaped. And on the B-2, the order was given.

Captain Matt "Woodlawnian " Woods punched the button on his tactical display and the Bombay door opened, dropping the Angel out just as the leviathan leaped. The timing was almost right. They had went for a gut shot, but the monster had missed it's target. The missile went down it's mouth in midroar. A fireball 800 yards in diameter blossomed into being around it. Nothing for at least a square mile, no structure at all, could possibly have survived.

They turned around and around for two long minutes. The whole east side of Central L.A. seemed to be on fire. The smoke was almost tangible from the debris in it. And then , the smoke swirled and a familiar form rose from it.

It dripped gore from a score of wounds. It's front fangs were shattered. It stood there saying back and forth, low groans coming from it's obscene mouth. It reached down to cup it's stomach in it's hands. It roared in discomfort, bent forwards slightly, and…

A thousand foot long streak of fire came from it's posterior, with a sound like a exploding gas truck.

Sugar144 summed up the feelings of the stunned squadron rather nicely.

"The baddest missile in the history of the Armed Forces and all it did was make it fart? Next time, we'll just feed the fucker some Exlax!! Let's get the hell outta here."

The five jets left as the creature burped smoke, then went back to destroying the city.

***************************************************************

On Air Force 1, President Barack Obama had gotten some semblance of control back. He had ordered the military to Def Con 2 and had ordered the military to engage the monsters at all costs. The V.P. was aloft in Air Force 2 and the Joint Chiefs were at Washington. Of course, since bad boy number four was currently demolishing Baltimore, they weren't in the safest possible position they could be. He felt nature calling and headed to his private lavatory near the nose of the jet.

He opened the door and a woman's voice spoke from the darkness " Miss me?"

" Michelle?!" he said, in shock and sheer crazy hope.

" Fool, I'm Oprah Winfrey!" and the last thing he felt was teeth.

The Secret Service agents heard the scream and came running, but the sheer shock of what they saw made them hesitate too long.

A somehow resurrected and transported Oprah Winfrey was biting through the president's throat even as they opened fire. Then more screams could be heard. Two minutes later, Air Force 1 slammed into a field outside of Metropolis, Illinois at six hundred miles an hour. The sole witness sore later that he had seen a woman's form walking from the wreckage with a skull in her hand, laughing.

All over the world, everyone who had died since the attacks began were coming back as zombies. They weren't as certainly deadly as the lager monster, nor as vicious as the smaller, but only decapitation seemed to put them down.

***************************************************************

On the Uncharted Island, things were grim indeed . Lelani seemed to be having heart failure from her efforts. Her barrier was gone and only the fact that ramming it seemed to have knocked the Great Mother out cold momentarily had kept panic from overwhelming them. Tagaloa-savali, the Messenger strode to the top of the temple, speaking even as he steadily smote his enemies, " Children, listen to me!" he commanded.

Even as he spoke, he started swelling to even greater size," I am going to try to delay the Mother as long as I can, but I cannot hope to match her for more than a few moments. We must hold this temple for at least twelve more minutes or all is lost!" With that said, he jumped to the ground. Hen he leaped, he as thirty five feet tall. By the time he landed, he was twice that.

Daley took command: " Nathan, Eric, guard Lelani. Mel?" she called out to here Mel was holding her side of the temple completely unaided." can you put you light around the whole top?"

Mel spoke up, uncertainly in her voice, but courage there as well. "I can try."

Love. That was what powered the gift Kane, Hawaiian god of light had given her. All through the fight, her love of Cody and Eric had strengthened her. Now, she walked to here Leilani had stood, steadily blazing light at her side of the temple, incinerating any monsters that approached. A shell of light dimy took form around her as she stood there and thought, As Lex did in the chamber below, about love. About her loved ones here and at home. It was hard now, like moving a mountain, but the shell grew, slowly passing over the others. And then, she had unexpected help as Taylor rose from Lelani's side and put the sacred Gjallor Horn to her lips.

A three toned note blew from it as Mel's sphere of light now encompassed the top of the temple.

At least ten thousand monsters now stood around the temple. And a fifteen hundred foot high and still growing Tagaloa-savali was crushing a score at a step as the Great Mother slowly stirred.

" Nothing's happening," Eric said as he wiped gore from his hands as he stood by Mel,"

" Wait." Mel said as she focus her mind further.

The red skies suddenly parted and a rainbow the breadth of the Golden Gate Bridge touched the earth on the edge oft the island. A thundering of hooves and feet could be heard . And then, tens of thousands of form could be seen as Valhalla emptied and the Einjar, the warriors chose for their bravery, flooded onto the plain. They needed no encouragement, no orders. They attacked the Sokil as ruthlessly as the lesser monsters themselves had always attacked. And in the lead was Sigurd, slayer of the Dragon Fafnir. And then, nine gigantic forms on winged horse flew down with them. They were the Valkyries , the chosers of the slain and in their lead was Brunhilde, the mightiest of them.

The smaller monsters ranks were shattered as they faced the onslaught. And then things got even worse for them as Daley discovered that Mel's barrier was one way. The thunderbolts of Zeus flew again, catching the monsters between death from light, lighting or sheer Viking brutality.

It seemed they had a chance yet again when the ocean surged as the megaton mass of the Mother rose to her feet. And was sent sprawling back again as Tagaloa-savali, now twenty five hundred feet tall himself attacked. His spear actually lifted the beast six hundred feet out of the water and knocked her for a flip. He waded in attacking, but even he knew he couldn't battle with her for long.

The final countdown had begun.

In the Heart of the Rock, Cody Jackson was face to face with three murdered classmates. He lingered protectively over Lex Marin as Abby Fujimoto repeated her accusation.

" You could have saved us but you didn't. You could have let him kill you, then I could have saved the other. But you didn't even offer. You like getting to fuck Mel and Eric too much. " The oriental woman slowly stalked him. The tall , gangling Ian Milbauer spoke as well.

" I was hurt. I had a broken leg. He'd already raped me a dozen times. He made me say I'd broken my leg in a fall. Bullshit. He broke it the first time he raped me. And I didn't get the Subversion until later. You were lucky. He though you were better looking than me. You and your fuckbuddies let him kill us so you wouldn't die. Cowards, " he spat in condemnation of Jackson, Mel and Eric.

Heavyset Jory Twitch spoke, " He told me he planned on having me have sex with animals, that I wasn't woman enough for a man to want me. And you let him kill us. All so you could have your own desires satisfied with Eric and Melissa. You should be dead, not us!"

" That's not true." Jackson spoke quietly as he guarded Lex. " You guys might have suffered first, but you were dead when he tried to rape me and Eric to death and when he tried to kidnap Lex. And when I had to kill him. You don't have any idea of what we've been through." And what he didn't notice was the feather of Quetzalcoatl softly glowing in his pocket.

" How dare you say that to us?!" Abby hissed in rage, "you're alive, we're dead. And you have you lovers, even though you know one day they'll shut you out."

Ian added:" Yeah, you're so dumb. Mel and Eric have known one another their whole lives. Why would they want to keep you around? They don't need you like you need them."

Jory talked in a hate filled voice, " They don't even need your body. Mel can use a toy on Eric, the same as she did you. And all you do is remind them with every breath of how perverted they've gotten since meeting you. You should be dead. You wouldn't be missed for long. "

They all spoke at once. " You should be dead, not us."

They didn't expect the reaction they got.

Jackson laughed at them.

" Is this it? This is the best you could do? Fucking idiots." He laughed again. Then he sobered and spoke to them earnestly. " Do you seriously think I don't know they'd be better off if I had never seen them?! Don't you know I have nightmares about one or the other of them dieing or worse, leaving me because of something I do? Because I'm not good enough for them? You take that chance every time you love someone and if your master had the brains of a fly, he'd realize that."

" You speak openly of our master?!" Abby seemed incredulous.

Jackson laughed a third time, this time in contempt. " You three aren't the real deals bitch. Especially not you. Abby loved Ian and Jory to the point of obsession. She would have killed herself and not batted an eye if it had saved them. " He lifted the glowing feather out of his pocket and held it out between his hands. " You three are nothing but shells and it's time for you to go back to Hell where you came from!" He snapped the feather and blue light blazed. And when it left, they were gone.

Unfortunately, he now had new company as Robert and Richard Russell stood before him.

" I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna do that with ol Snaky's feather," Bob Russell said with a sneer.

" Aww, he looks just like Sleeping Beauty. Bet I wake him with more than a kiss, " Richard Russell said as he leered at the still form of Lex, obscenely running a hand over his groin.

The twins moved as one towards Lex. Jackson tackled Richard, but Bob stabbed at Lex with the tsai of Amastu Mikaboshi even as Jackson flung his knife he'd made at Hartwell at him, hitting him in the hand even as the blade fell..

The whole chamber shook unexpectedly as Tagaloa -savali fell rapidly shrinking to the earth outside it.

The Great Mother roared in triumph as her foe fell still.


	26. Chapter 26

Author's Note: This is here I have to mention Jackson's Other Lives again.

You'll see why.

Chapter 26

Death of Innocence

Day 82

Eight minutes left.

Jackson's knife impaling Bob Russell hand was all that kept the blow he gave Lex from instant death. As it as, his heart had been grazed by the tsai. The light in the cave fell to a dim flicker even as the roaring of the great Mother could be plainly heard. The entire temple as shaking to the sound of her feet, but somehow, the others ere keeping her back. Jackson didn't know how or have time to care as the twins turned to attack their smaller foe.

He held them off for over another precious minute as Lex's life blood poured, but finally, he was caught between the two of them. Bob Russell tripped him even as Jackson kneed him in the groin. Rich Russell kicked Jackson in the stomach so hard Jackson felt a rib crack under the impact. He fell, his head slamming into the floor hard. Too hard. Darkness fell on him as the room faded to near pitch black.

One minute earlier

"NO!" Daley Marin screamed as the Mother bit Tagaloa-savali at last. The effect seemed even faster on gods than humans. He fell back convulsing , shrinking as he did. But he as still a thousand feet tall hen he hit the ground, crushing thousands of Vikings and Sokil as well. The temple rocked from the impact and Daley nearly fell out of Melissa's protective bubble.

Eric was standing at Mel's side, as was Taylor and Leilani, who had finally risen to her feet, pale as a ghost herself. Mel was on her knees as if in prayer.

"I can't do this forever, " she grated between clenched teeth, " there's so many of them." And it was true. Even though the Einjar and Valkyries had occupied the majority of the monsters, the Mother was now crushing them like flies and at least two thousand Sokil were crowding the temple. Mel's sphere was slowly collapsing inwards, an inch as a time.

The kahuna cupped Mel's face with one hand and Eric's with another. " Draw your strength from one of your beloved ones child. Boy, ' she spoke to Eric, " tell her what is in your heart, now , if ever."

Eric went to his own knees and supported Mel as she trembled. " I love you Melissa. You and Cody are everything to me. We love you. I don't know how I made it without the two of you in my life and I don't want to lose you know. Fight Mel! If you love us like I know you do, then fight. Take it from me. I'll give up everything if it means either of your lives, you know that. I love you so damn much Mel." tears were on his narrow face as he spoke to her. He smiled at her as she put and hand to his face and, with the last of her magic, Lelani linked the two of them, dropping to the stones again. . Mel took the strength from Eric, who slumped to the stones beside her.

And Mel's heart swelled as the true power of the love Eric had , not merely for Cody, or even for her, but for both of them hit her nerves like the thunderbolt Daley was furiously flinging at the Mother . The sphere swelled to two dozen times its size, flinging the monster to the very edge of the clearing, and glowing fifty times brighter than before even as the storms rages, rain pelting down now .

The Mother herself took a hesitant two steps back as hundreds of her parasites exploded into ashes as the light of love destroyed their evil hearts.

Two minutes later, seven minutes left.

Jackson awoke to a hideous tearing sensation that was only to familiar to him. After all, he'd been raped before, by these same men. Richard Russell thrust into him as deeply as he could while his brother undressed slowly.

" Guess what's fixin' to happen to your little friend there, "Richard groaned as he violated Jackson, " the same as is happening to you! And when we're done…"

His brother finished the sentence for him, " We'll cut your hearts out for a gift to out master." The monster reached for the still breathing body of Lex, " You're gonna die here, all alone. You got nobody to turn to."

Richard Russell stabbed into Jackson, coking him as he orgasmed. Even as Jackson's vision ent gray, the words of the Messenger echoed in his head.

**When your friends and loved ones cannot stand with you, you will have yourself to turn to. **And he finally understood. The cross on his neck, blessed by gods and a magician glowed. A white light lit the room.

Bob Russell has been about to strip Lex when three sets of hands set him flying from the helpless boy.

Three more set of hands ripped Richard Russell from Jackson's abused body. Richard looked up at a very familiar yet different form.

" Sick mother fucker, here's some hard wood for you!" Noah Carmichaels, a twin of Jackson from one of the seven earths they were also fighting to save said as his Louisville slugger caught the pervert under the left arm.

Bob Russell hopped to his feet, the deadly tsai in his hand and looked up to a familiar face.

But Not Cody Jackson's. Of Melissa Wu.

She was dressed like one of Russell's better et dreams, a oriental demigoddess/dominatrix in black halter top, black leather skirt, black thigh high boots and even black gloves. She was holding a pair of nunchuks in her hands.

" Johnny P sends his regards, but his ribs are still in bad shape. I told the candyass to work out more often, but no. Oh well, " she said to the confused man as he hesitantly raised the weapon in his hands, "let me show you a few moves I learned playing Cho Ann on Buffy, " Kristy Wu said as she sent a spinning heel kick into Bob's head.

It was poetic justice, that children should be the death of the twin pedo's. They had been told by the kahuna and the Messenger earlier that day to stand ready and they had not disappointed. Each of them owed a huge debt to Cody Jackson and they were willing to risk all to repay it. Damon Young, Kristy and Dayton Moore beat the stuffing out of Richard Russell while Noah, Nathan Atherton and Sam, who owed his life to Jackson, pounded on Bob.

A seventh form had appeared next to Lex. This version of Cody was Danny Sinclair, who had the potential to rival Merlin himself in magic. He used that power to try to help Lex, to no avail. All he could do was protect him. And one other thing. He pointed at the tsai and sent it flying to Jackson. The temple shook again and again.

On the roof, Mel's bubble now barely held the mother at bay. All Nathan could do was hold Mel's hand hile Taylor stood over them, Eric and Leilani.

Daley had had it. " If I go, I'm taking you with me!" And she drew out the rest of the magic in the quiver in the extremity of her rage at the monster and from the love for her friends and brother as well. She flung the most powerful bolt ever drawn since Zeus had slain his on father with the very first one.

The thunderbolt nearly blinded them even in Mel's shield. It could be seen a thousand miles away as it did something nothing else had done. A three foot hole was blasted through the Mother, who went to her knees from the agony even as Daley fell to the stone completely drained.

Two minutes left.

The seven forms grew faint as the spell faded. Sam spoke to Jackson.

" You gotta use the other charm, the one that lets you touch the minds of every one else. Hurry!" And they faded from sight.

Jackson rushed over to the fallen bodies and did what he had to first. The dagger net deep into two hearts, one living , one dead. He'd worry about his execution of Richard Russell later. For now , he had another problem.

" Dammit, I can't do it! I'm no fucking virgin!. And Lex can't. There's no virgin here!" And then, a image of a terrified Taylor sprang to mind. He touched his cross…

" Here she comes!' Taylor screamed as the Mother rose again and then…

She was with Cody and Lex.

" hat happened, here am I? Hey, watch it Jackson, that hurt." she babbled as Jackson hurried to put his medallion on her throat. " What are you doing? Why are you naked?"

" Tay, shut up and listen. Lex's hurt and you're the only other person who's a virgin here. All you have to do is reach out, try to feel the love in the world, from here to out there. Please, I don't have time, just trust me and remember, I love you."

Lex's heart stopped as they spoke.

" Here, cover it up." she said as he guided her to the alter. He whipped the coat around him as he lifted Lex. "Just lie here and hurry."

She laid down with a grimace at the blood under here. She closed her eyes and fingered the medallion. And the enchantment began to work. She could fell the emotions of everyone on the island.

Mel trembled as the Mother shoved at the shield. It contracted slowly.

Jackson began CPR on Lex the second he realized he wasn't breathing. He trembled under the mental and physical strain as he did it. _Don't you die on me Lex, we need you!, _he thought as he pumped the chest.

Taylor was lost in love. The crystal walls thrummed as before as her mind reached out even faster and further than Lex's had. But, her own doubts still held her back. Her fears. The light was growing, but in fits.

Jackson swapped sides. As he did, something fell from Eric's jacket. His injector.

And Jackson's mind flashed back three months, to when only adrenaline had kept Eric's heart punping from his allergic reaction to shellfish. And to watching old shows like MASH and ER. And how sometimes the doctors had…

He didn't even finish the thought. He ripped the injector from and slapped it into the wound on the edge of Lex's stopped heart. Then, he slammed a fist into the boy's sternum and screamed with all his might" LIVE!. YOU DON'T DIE HERE!! NOT AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! YOU FUCKING LIVE! YOU"RE MY AND ERIC AND NATHAN"S BROTHER TOO! AND MEL AND TAYLOR'S AND WE NEED YOU!"

The Mother reeled back and slammed a hoof onto the bubble. It evaporated as Mel fell from the stress. She looked at them. And drew back.

Lex's eyes opened and his mind and Taylor's meshed together in a symphony as the love of an entire world joined with seven other worlds through the mind of Cody Jackson, backed by the power of seven gods.

The mother dove at them.

A shimmering wave exploded from the Heart of Tagaloa's Rock.

Five feet from impact, the Great Mother imploded with a rush of air. The vacuum flung them a dozen feet into the air, but they survived.

In three seconds, the shimmering wave of love circled the globe. Monsters disappeared in almost comical popping noises. The zombies fell to the ground, corpses once again. The Sokil vanished as well. And the skies went back to normal in three more seconds time.

" Did we do it?" Lex whispered to Cody as Taylor walked over to them.

"You did it. You and Taylor."

Taylor gently corrected him:" No, we all did it." She looked around, " Weren't the Russells bodies in here?"

" I don't even want to think about them. Wherever they are, I don't think they're coming back." Jackson said firmly

They went to the once again glowing alter and ascended, Lex in Jackson's arms.

In another place, a dark, foul, stinking pit with monsters, demons and other creatures foul swarming, the Russell twins appeared naked before their master. He was not pleased.

Amastu Mikoboshi glared at them;" You failed. And now, I am trapped here from at least ten thousand more years." Smoke rose from his nose.

Bob spoke. "It was those kids. Those damn kids."

Richard spoke: " You sound like all the bad guys in those Scooby Doo cartoons!"

They started to fight, until two demons, bear shaped, with huge, spiky penises grabbed them up.

The uglier of the two looked at Amatsu and asked, " Are these the ones boss?"

He nodded:" Since you to seemed to care more about sex than getting the job done, you'll be having sex for ten thousand years. Being raped by every demon in my domain! Have fun Yogi and Boo Boo."

He walked off into the swirling clouds as the first to demon of his realm began raping the pedophiles.

Author Again: This isn't the end yet, about four more chapters to go. Poor PedoBears! Boo Hoo.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

Aftermath

Day 82 :One hour later

The seven survivors of F29DWN were once again assembled on the temple roof. Lex was laying on the temple stone, Melissa and Leilani hovering over him. A few steps away, Tagaloa-savali lay in on the tones as well, where he had been placed by Eric and Nathan. Jackson had wanted to help, but his injured ribs simply wouldn't allow it. To be honest, he as barely able to stand from the pain of his battle from the Russell twins. Plus the more personal assault from Richard Russell. He walked back over to Lex's side and asked.

" How's he doing Mel? Will he be ok?", the anxiety was plain in his voice. Despite everything, he'd blamed himself for Lex's injury, even though the others had been outspoken in denying that.

"Dude, quit bein' such a damn tard!" from Eric , had been the NICEST thing that had been said.

" Leilani and I think he'll be ok. She's actually managed to heal the worst of the wound. It's like he's had at least a month to heal already. " She shook her head in disbelief as she spoke, but it as the simple truth. Lex was exhausted, but the blood had stopped even trickling a half hour ago .

Leilani spoke: " His physical wounds were quick to respond, now that the barriers have been not merely sealed, but fortified. But the mental wounds, the damage to his spirit, those are things that only time and love will heal. " She turned a tired smile upon Jackson as she continued , " I don't believe the love will be an issue. " The ancient woman held out a hand and Jackson carefully lifted her to her feet.

" And how are you doing?" he asked the kahuna as she walked slowly over to the fallen Messenger, tears in the corners of her brown eyes as she looked down at the body of the god. He lay still. And he had reverted back to the form they had seen him in first, that of a copy of Little J, the only member of the slaver crew who had not reappeared this day. At that, Jckson asked the question of Lelani.

" His soul is in a far better place than theirs were Cody. Little J, Jamal, sacrificed his life to save seven youths he did not have to save. That sacrifice cleansed him of the Subversions effect long enough top set his spirit free. The others, they were still damned beyond redemption, that is how the Russells and their master could use them."

" But what about Abby, Ian and Jory?! They were victims too!" he said angrily, his strong face twisting in remembered pain. He had used his gift from the gods to destroy their resurrected bodies.

" They were merely the shells, as you surmised in the battle. Their souls were sent to their resting place months ago. You did nothing other than spare their corpses from being desecrated further." She hugged the tall youth, whose emotional barriers were crumbling now that the fight was over.

Mel and Eric joined them as he went to his knees and confessed in gasps, " They nearly did it. I was so damn mad and stupid, I admitted I still fell like I'm not good enough for the two of you. That mistake could have killed us all. I'm sorry." They went to his side and spoke to him softly, but firmly.

Mel:" You are too hard on yourself. You always have been. We're here and I have something else to say to you." She lifted his chin up and her dark eyes met his tearing blue ones as she did. " Leilani linked me and Eric for a second in the fight, so I could use his love to help me. And for those seconds, I saw just how much Eric cares for you and me and I know he'd never turn on either of us. He'll never abandon us, not unless we hurt him the way his parents did. My God Cody, it actually hurts him to be away from us."

Eric spoke out: " And I saw how Mel feels. I couldn't believe it when I saw she really does love me like she loves you. And you wouldn't believe how much she loves you. You give her the strength she needs, just like you do me." He put a hand on Cody's shoulder as they drew him to his feet.

And then, Leilani touched Jackson on the arm and he as given the same gift they had been for a split second. He knew exactly how they felt about them and they knew how he felt. She let them stand for a few moments before speaking again.

" And now, my dear children, the champions of the gods and the great fathers shall meet for one last time as we say farewell to the Messenger of Tagaloa, Tagaloa -Savali. And the gods have a final gift for you, to show their appreciation for the work you have done."

The Hawaiian woman raised her arms as she had done once before and chanted. Then, the winds picked up and the seven Sky Fathers appeared in swirls of colored wind and light. They stood silent as they gazed upon the fallen Messenger in a gesture of respect. And then, to the shock of the seven, the temple suddenly blazed with green light as an eighth form took shape.

An enormous form, fully ten feet tall stood there, looking oddly familiar for all that they had never seen him before. He had the bronze skin and dark hair of the Messenger and was nearly covered in tribal tattoos. His voice was full of pain and love both as he addressed them all, humans and gods alike.

"Here is the body of my son, Tagaloa-Savali, my Messenger. He fell fighting a foe against whom no one here, not even one of we Sky Fathers could have possibly defeated single handed. He gave his immortal life to protect the less powerful. To safeguard hope. There could be no better death to die for than that. Praised be the Messenger , Savali!" Tagaloa the Elder boomed.

The seven gods spoke as one, "Praise to Tagaloa-Savali, never will he be forgotten!" The sky rang with thunder as they spoke.

Even Lex joined in as the survivors spoke, led by Cody Jackson, " He will never be forgotten."

Tagaloa strode to Jackson and looked down at him, a fierce but also somehow comforting look on his face as he said: " And now, it is time for the champions to receive the final blessings and for them to return to their journey home."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The Last Departure

Day 82 Mid Afternoon

The eight mortal and eight gods had walked down to the shore together. The beach was littered with debris from the monumental battle that had taken place there. Boulders the size of cars lay on top of each other. And the last casualty of the fight was laying there as well as Mel gasped at the shattered image of her.

" Oh no, poor Rosebud." she said wistfully as she pointed the jagged remains out to the others, " " she didn't make it this time."

And indeed, there was barely enough left of the little ship to tell hat it had even been. What was left might have made for a decent bonfire, but it was obvious her days of sailing the ocean were over. All of the 29Downers looked slightly dejected; the boat had become an unofficial member of the family in a very real way.

Jackson was pragmatic about it:" Well, I see me and Lex will be building a second one after all," he said as he looked on the wreckage, only to be interrupted by the Hawaiian deity Kane.

" I see that perhaps I need to bestow my parting gift upon you now, rather than later, " the softly glowing god said , his usual smile on his bronze skinned face. He turned to Melissa Wu and held a closed hand out to her. " Melissa, my brave daughter, you have earned this gift a thousand times over this day. Take what is in my hand and use it for your next step home." He touched her hand with his closed one and Mel held hers under. A tiny object touched her hand, hard, yet warm.

She looked down into her hand and in it was a tiny seashell. She looked up at the god with an confused expression. " What , exactly, is this for Kane?"

He pointed to the gently lapping waves and instructed her, " Put the seashell onto the water and you shall see." Mel walked to the water and set the shell in . A strange, gurgling noise suddenly filled the air. Mel jumped back hurriedly as the seashell suddenly began glowing and expanding.

" Yikes! What on earth is that thing?!" she cried out in surprise as Kane laughed heartily at her.

" It is my sailboat dear Mel. It will take you to where you can summon the help to get home." Kane stood there with his hands on his hip, beaming at her.

"Uh, no offense your godliness, " Taylor broke in, " But I kinda thought after all we'd just been through that one of you would have just, I don't know, snapped your fingers and sent us home, " she said hesitantly, glancing at Odin as if she expected to be slapped down by him for her temerity. Instead, the white haired Asgardian went to one knee in front of her and explained.

" Taylor, in this day and age, if we were to send you home by magic, there would be question asked that would merely make your already troubled lives even worse. In all fairness, how do you think your families would react if Kane's ship arrived in Los Angeles with no rational explanation?"

Taylor grudgingly confessed, " They would think we were crazy when we said a god gave it to us. They would probably send us straight to the psycho ward." She looked dejectedly at Odin, " Then what good is the boat?"

" It will take you to the last island, here the Russell twins plane is. In that alone, they told the absolute truth. The plane is there, with a working radio. And all you have to do is give a summons and I swear by my fallen son's honor and by the power of all the gods here, your cry for help will not go unanswered before this day is over, " the great Tagaloa proclaimed from here he stood, watching the gulls circle over the beach, the first sign of life they had seen since the battle had finally stopped. " And now, I shall go, to take my son's body to it's final resting place.' he turned and looked at the seven youths for a long pause before speaking his last words to them, " This island is a part of you always. It will forever be able to be found by any of the seven of you in a time of need, from wherever you may be. You need only go into deep water and you will find your way back. Thank you for all that you have done, and now, my time here is done." There as a blaze of green light and Tagaloa was gone.

Kane spoke to them next. " Use my boat well young ones. And remember this as well, Whenever you come back, if ever, the gifts of battle will be here as well. Dear Melissa, " he spoke to his champion a final time, " you have had the light in you since your first breath, it only took love to release it. Love them as they love you and you will flourish , " he bestowed a look on Jackson and Eric for a moment before hugging Mel," Fare you well." And he disappeared in a golden halo.

Grim Odin placed a gauntleted hand on Taylor Hagen's shoulder as he said his farewell. " Taylor, your fierce will helped save the word this day. Fearing the future will keep you from embracing the present. You have proven your courage to your friends, now let the rest of the world see it as well. This is my gift to you, the gift of a warning. When you go home, the greatest threat to your loved ones will come from within, not without. You cannot stop what must happen, but you and you alone will be able to keep disaster from becoming tragedy. " And with that said, he vanished in a rainbow of light.

" Ohh Kayy, that was nice and cryptic, "' she drawled as he went, " tres spooky."

The Lady of the Lake went up to Nathan and hugged him briefly, " Sir Nathaniel McHugh. It does have a rather pleasing sound to it." She took the sword and scabbard from Nathan . " I must take these back to their rightful owner, but know this young knight, Arthur Pendragon himself could not have used them better this day."

Nathan grinned broadly from the fulsome praise.

" I must go, but my final gift to you is this: your pain ill return. That cannot be avoided the second you leave this island, but, the cure is as close to you as your own skin. And, your suffering and Eric, Melissa, Cody and Daley's is similar, but your is not the same. That will be a blessing, rather than a curse in the near future, for your greatest source of strength has not arrived yet. " And then, she vanished, sans displays of light.

Mighty Zeus spoke next, a massive forearm comfortable draped across Daley's back. Their hair seemed to be the exact same shade of red as the sun shone brightly down on them and a gentle breeze stirred it. " My little thunderer , it is time for me to go. All I can say to you as a gift I that there ill be thunder and lightning of a different sort when you get home. But it will not be as you expect. Farewell daughter." He straightened up and as gone in a rumble of thunder.

Tall Brahman looked at Eric, who locked eyes with the eight and a half foot god. The bald god shook his head slowly. " In all my centuries, I have rarely beheld such a walking contradiction as you. Even I can barely predict what you will say or do from one moment to another."

Eric actually risked a comment, " I like to keep people on their toes."

The god groaned slightly. Then spoke again, ' My gift to you is to tell you this: It is not a sin to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable. But, it is foolish to forgive and not safeguard oneself and one loved ones. Goodbye , my strange champion." And he slowly faded from sight.

"Never a straight answer or suggestion, is there?" Eric bemoaned as he stepped back from the next god to approach, Itzamna.

Itzamna approached Jackson, who had Lex still in his arms. " Set him down for a moment; his injuries are painful, but no longer life threatening." Cody complied and took a few respectful steps back from the duo. Lex stood there on unsteady feet, but he stood. More than he had expected to be able to do after being nearly slain yet again.

" My descendant, you are of true Mayan linage. You have surpassed even myself with what you have done this day. Keep the chain I have given you for it has one last purpose. It will let you sense if ever any other god or demon is close by, for precautions must be taken this time. If ever it grows cold as ice upon your neck, you are to summon the others and come back to this island, for an enemy is near. Understand me in this Lex."

" I do, " the boy replied, " I'll miss you. I liked hearing the old stories from you."

" And I now have a new one, the story of the seven Survivors of Flight 29 Down , to tell to my brethren in our resting place. Goodbye young warrior." And in a bronze glare, he was gone.

Quetzalcoatl met Jackson halfway as they approached one another. The hideous serpent lord looked into the handsome young man's face and grim looks of approval were on both.

"I am sorry that I cannot heal your wounds in the spirit Cody, only time and love will do that. What I can say is this: your union with these two people ill be the greatest source of pain and power in the times ahead. And that, if you truly wish no one to ever endure what you have endured, then you have a responsibility to do something about it. Until you make that decision, you will know no peace. You all still have destinies to obtain, but you will always stand in the center. It is your blessing and your curse." And with that, he touched Jackson, arm, right where he had his small tattoo that he had never explained to a soul. It was burned away and a new one went there.

" My mark will tell you if ever one of the seven is in peril from someone or something not of this world. And it will also tell you the same of your other selves on their worlds. Goodbye Champion." And in a swirl of feathers and hiss of snakes, he left.

Lelani came to the last of all. She hugged each of them in turn, kissing each on the cheeks as well as she made a circle of the small group. She finally finished and beamed at them, pride on her wrinkled old face.

" You have struggled and fought . You have been attacked and defended. You have been harmed and you have stopped the ones who caused the harm. In all things, you seven have truimphed, no matter what the cost. And no it is time for you to go home. But, I have a final gift to give you." As before, she spread her arms skyward and chanted. A red mist seemed to fall over each of them. After a moment, she stopped and explained.

" This spell will prevent you from discussing the events here unless you are in a secure place, with no chance of being overheard. The outer world will never know of the events on this island, but you seven alone ill understand. To the world at large, it will remain a mystery and perhaps that is for the best. Perhaps if Mankind ha to turn to the spiritual side for explanations other than science can provide, then they may remember the god of old once again. As my gods said about the Messenger, I say about you . You ill never be forgotten here, not by myself nor the gods. I thank you with all my hart ear ones, but now it's time to go. Shoo! Get moving! " She cackled with glee as the somber mood shattered as a ninety year old woman shooed them towards the gleaming white sailboat on the shore, Kane's gift to them.

The seven got aboard and Mel took the helm as they waved and shouted goodbyes to the kahuna Leilani.

A half mile out, the white fog appeared and swallowed them. This time, none aboard felt any fear, only anticipation as they made their journey to the last island.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

" It's about damn time!"

Day 82: Afternoon

The seven had been having the most important conversation of their entire exile while the sailboat of Kane took them to the last island.

Jackson had led the talk as they decided on what they had to admit had happened and what they wouldn't admit.

" Guys, I hate it as bad as anyone else, but we have to admit we were drugged and raped. We don't have a choice. We all , except for Taylor, have to be checked for STDs. Even Lex, since he had a transfusion from me after I had been raped the first go around. God knows what any of those pirates had been a hold of. And don't even get me started on the suicidal tendencies of this group!" He rubbed absently at the scars on his arms as he said that last.

Nathan had responded with a lack of grace, but seemed to finally accept the inevitable, " Yeah, Dad's gonna be so proud of his son, the Perverted pervert."

Daley had wisely used humor, rather than logic, to help: " You're my pervert. My favorite one, at that." She had kissed his protests into submission. And thereby unexpectedly gotten Eric started.

"Dammit, I was just getting used to being able to slobber all over Chief and Mel around you guys and now, I have to pretend everything is nice and normal between us?! That sucks donkey dicks!" He was about to go on another McGorrill mouth off when it happened.

He had been silenced by a surprise from Jackson. The big guy had grabbed him and unceremoniously gave him the longest, deepest, most passionate kiss he could summon, his big hands gripping Eric's small buttocks and actually lifting him into the air as he did so. And that wasn't the only surprise for the second he released the smaller teen, Mel had grabbed Eric and did a repeat performance on him!

Eric blushed furiously as the others began clapping and applauding, even Nathan perked up enough to unleash an ear splitting whistle.

" You'll be getting plenty more of that at home, just not in the middle of the Quad at Hartwell. That's all. No more hiding. I love you both and I am not lying to anyone who asks me, " Mel declared firmly. " My parents and I will work something out."

Jackson concurred:" I say fuck the rest, I 'm with the two of you. End of story."

Eric had to ruin the loving mood. " Fuck the rest, I fuck the best!"

Nathan guffawed, " I always pictured you saying that to an inflatable woman , or your left hand."

" Leave Roxanne outta this!" Eric shot back gamely, " I haven't even introduced her to Mel and Cody yet!"

" Land!" Lex shouted from here he as propped in Taylor's lap, " I see land!"

And there it was, the fog evaporating as the sailboat as to shore. The final island. They touched bottom by the time they got Lex ready to be carried to shore. And after they went to shore, they turned at a gurgling noise.

The sailboat of Kane shrank and disappeared beneath the arm Pacific waters.

Mel , standing between her to lovers, spoke, " Goodbye little boat. Do you think we'll ever make a Rosebud 2?" she asked the group.

" Yes." came Lex's certain reply.

" Can't do without one, " Daley agreed as Taylor added, " Can we put a restroom on it if we do? I hate poopy pails!"

The seven went to the final nest of Robert and Richard Russell.*****************************************************

" I knew better than to name this broken don piece of crap " Broken for Eternity" after my damn third divorce,' snarled Kyle Monroe as his aged Grumman Goose fling boat bobbed up and don. " Piece of crap engines, supposed to get three miles to the gallon at cruise and I barely get half that!. Last time I buy a plane from Stan Rogow, I swear!" He slammed a fit into the seventy year old console even as his radio unexpectedly came to life.

A fairly deep baritone voice filled the air with static as Cody Jackson called out: " Mayday, mayday, this is Cody Jackson. I am one of seven survivors of a plane crash from 82 days ago. Our call numbers are Two Niner Delta November William. I repeat, we are the survivors of a plane crash from eighty two days ago."

He repeated it three more times before the surge of electricity in Kyle's veins settled. For he had heard of that plane! Just before the world had gone crazy, a billionaire from LA, Rex Hagen had offered a million dollar reward for news about either of the two missing planes and now, finally, he was about to hit the jackpot. Forcing calm into his voice, the skinny twenty seven year old man responded. " Attention survivors of 29DN, this is Kyle Monroe and I am reading you plain. Can you give me a fix on our location, over."

He could barely hear the reply for the cheering in the back ground that had erupted at his response.

" Yes, hell yes, " Cody Jackson said, hugging Mel as Eric kissed the tops of both of their heads in the cramped cockpit of the broke down plane in Russell's last hiding spot. He gave the coordinates Lex had mapped out as Daley, Taylor and Nathan carried the boy on a victory dance outside of the plane.

" I 'm rich! I'm fucking rich!" Kyle screamed as he whipped the plane around towards the coordinates, " C'mon you piece of crap, hold on for a few more hours and I'll buy you all the gas you can guzzle! Yee HAA!" The plane dove like a frightened angel towards the island fifty miles away.

Two hours later, as the sunset over the island, and elderly blue and white flying boat took off in a cloud of smoke, heading for Guam. She had seven passengers on board.

On an uncharted island a score of miles away, an old woman lit seven candles, one for each youth and each color of the rainbow, in prayer and thanked eight gods in a whispered prayer.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Ashes of Victory

Day 84

The Boeing 747 coasted up the runway at LAX as the small group of parents watched anxiously. Maria Marin, Rex Hagen, Roslin McGorrill, who stood slightly away from the others, Kristina Wu and Rex Hagen, who had chartered the almost empty plane , waited with slipping patience as at last, their children came from the plane into the terminal proper.

" DADDY!" Taylor cried out in pure joy as she launched herself into the grinning former Texan's arms, rocking the solidly built tycoon back on his heels with her vehemence. She wore the best clothes money could by at Guam, from the emergency fifty thousand her proud papa had wired her.

Nelson McHugh gave his son an enormous bear hug as the springy haired Nathan hugged his father back hard. They had already had a hour long phone conversation the night before. Nathan had confessed that he had been drugged and, although not going into details, that they had all been abused badly by the pirates and the insane plots. But they had all agreed, parent and youth alike to set that aside for the first forty eight hours.

Mel was crying before she ever reached her mother's arms. Kristina Wu regretted having to tell Mel of her father's heroic death, of ho he had bodily pulled patients from the clinic hen the first monster had attacked LA, and of ho the bite from the smaller one had killed him. A hysterical Mel had been brought back to sanity solely by Eric and Jackson's desperate pleas. Even now, they were close at hand. And Mel had also admitted to her mother that she was deeply involved with them both. To her surprise, her mother had raised no strong objections, other than an immediate lecture on birth control. And then, she had been stunned at the new of what drugs had been given the children.

" I will do everything in my power to help all of them Melissa." had been her solemn promise.

Maria Marin was crying as Lex was wheeled into her arms by Daley. He had been furious at being confined to a wheel chair, and they had to fight his every mile of the flight home to stay still. His injuries were still serious enough that he had spent the night in the Navy Hospital at Guam before being allowed to go home. But, the news from home had been a shock to both Marins, as they found out that their family had twins on the way.

" Mom, you're getting fat, " he teased with a smile.

Maria smiled back as she and Daley wrapped arms around each others hips. " And you've gotten a mouth on you since you left. How about e celebrate your homecoming with a month with no TV, especially, no Teen Titans?" She burst out laughing at Lex's sad face.

" I can believe I'm gonna have a little brother and a little sister! I bet Dad's still grinning." Daley gushed .

" Like the Cheshire cat. He doesn't realize how bad I hate being pregnant. I love the result, " Maria said, patting Lex's check, " but I hate the first trimester passionately."

" Make him use birth control then, oh, but wait, you Catholics don't believe in that do you?" Roslin remarked waspishly as she walked over to take Eric firmly by the arm, all but pulling him from an ashen Mel and a still faced Jackson. " Come on Eric, we'll have a nice dinner at home, just the to of us. You'll have a long day tomorrow, at our attorney's office, signing power of attorney over your trust fund to me. Excuse me, " she said, shouldering past Cody, who clenched a fist in fury.

A short, brown-haired man in a cheap suit suddenly came panting up to the group, a badge in one hand and a piece of paper in the next. He pointed the badge at Nelson McHugh and the paper at Jackson.

" I finally got you, you little smart ass. I have a warrant for you for flight to avoid prosecution, for violation the conditions of your Youth Court supervision and as an accessory in the stabbing of Jamal Smith. You may have been sipping drinks on an island fro three months, but tonight, you'll be playing a game of don't drop the soap in Paso Robles!" snarled Dan Rosenthal, Jackson's probation officer, as the moment Cody Jackson had dreaded for three months finally came to pass.

_Well, by our count last night, I've been raped, counting each separate act as a rape, thirty eight times in the last three months, bet that goes up some, _Jackson thought , his heart turned to ice as Rosenthal pulled out a pair of handcuffs and growled at him.

" Turn around and hold your ass still until I put these on. And not one damn word better come outta your mouth or I swear, I'll have 'em do a cavity search on you here before we even." the weasel like man hissed as Nelson McHugh suddenly reached over and knocked the handcufs to the floor with a jangle.

" Hold it right there McHugh, I know who you are, and you have no right to interfere in my jurisdiction!" he whined shrilly, scrambling for the cheap handcuffs, threatening Jackson all the while. He looked up in plain terror as Rex Hagen stood on the other side of him, his cell phone in his hand.

" Get out of my way or I'll have you arrested for interfering with an officer of the Court at the same time I have him, " he pointed a shaky finger into an unimpressed McHugh's face, " disbarred for the same reason."

" You're a fool, Rosenthal. " McHugh proclaimed with a tight smile on his face. " After all these kids have been through, did you think they hadn't gotten close? That they wouldn't help each other, or get someone else to help a friend if they couldn't? My son called me and begged for help for Jackson here before he said a word about what had happened to him. And I called Judge Brown's office."

Rosenthal laughed in derision: " He's outta town for a month, so the punk's still going away for that long!"

Nelson McHugh was suddenly distracted as his cell rang. He walked over as soon as he recognized the number.

Rex Hagen sneered as he dialed a number, " And when Nelson and Taylor called me asking for help with, " the problem, I called in a favor or two. Here, " he tossed the phone to Rosenthal, " your big boss is on the other line."

Rosenthal touched the phone like he thought it would bite him. Then , he placed the phone to his ear. " Hello, this is Dan Rosenthal, who the hell are you?!"

A deep , resounding voice, that of a man who had once had a very successful career in acting , came through, with the harsh vowels of his Austrian upbringing audiable in it, " I am the Governor of the State of California, that is who I am , you little worm! I was told by Rex Hagen that if I didn't help him, he'd never vote Republican again and he'd move his company out of California. And McHugh would run against me in my reelection! You are fired, effective immediately. And we'll send you an IUO for your severance pay! I hereby pardon Cody Jackson for any and all crimes and I'll personally have him emancipated by the end of the week. Have a good day, you little girly man!"

Rosenthal stood there red faced as Rex grabbed his phone back. " Git! You aren't wanted or needed here, so go chase an ambulance or something. Better yet, go run in front of one!" And Rosenthal left without a word. " Damn, I need a shower after dealing with that man, sleezebag."

Taylor ran up and hugged him again, looking back at the group: "I told you all I had the best Daddy in the world." All save Mel smiled back and even she looked grateful .

Eric tried to go back to Mel's side and his mother hissed at him, " Let's get going sweetie, you have a long day tomorrow. Now move," she said, pushing not so gently at him. She turned to leave and met an unexpected obstruction.

Nelson McHugh stood in front like a great thundercloud, his face grim.

"Eric, go over with the others, son. You and Cody will be staying at my house tonight with Nathan." Eric looked scared as he slipped his mother's viselike grip and went to the others.

" Who the hell do you think you are, telling my son what to do?" Roslin protested angrily platinum hair swirling as she shook her head , " You can't intimidate me, you overdressed flat foot!"

" I am not trying to intimidate you, " he replied levelly, "What I am doing is arresting you." And he drew his own handcuffs out.

" FOR WHAT?!" she screeched in outrage as Eric began crying silently. He had been on the phone as well last night and he had finally done what he had to do. Cody and Mel enclosed in their arms as McHugh spoke harshly.

" For starters, for suspicion in your ex husband Michael McGorrills' death.

His brakes may not have been tampered with, put the fluid pump certainly was. And more importantly, for physical , emotional and sexual abuse of your son, Eric Jeremy McGorrill. He talked to me about it last night, while I was in my office."

" I'll fucking kill you too, you traitorous bastard!" the evil woman screamed as the security Kristina Wu had summoned at a signal from Nelson arrived. They hauled the woman off, still screaming threats at her only child.

" What will we do now?' Eric asked weakly as they helped him to a chair. Rex spoke up.

"Eric, I'm gonna help you and Cody with the emancipation. Nelson here ill put you up for a few days until you have a place to stay. "

Jackson spoke up:" And then what, we starve in the streets?"

Nelson had an answer ready, " Actually, then, you use the two million dollars each the airline settled with us for this morning for wrongful deaths, hiring a pilot like Russell, who had warrants in two other countries for smuggling , lack of maintenance on said planes, etc. All of you people get two million each, so do the families of the ones who didn't make it. It's not what you deserve, but it'll help." He noticed Kristina , apparently texting, looking up at Jackson with sadness on her face. She strode over to the tall young man.

" Cody, I have bad news . You know about your mother's injuries and that she's in a coma?" she asked, as Mel and Eric came over.

He knew what was coming as tears fell and his hope of seeing his mother alive finally died. " Yes."

" She passed away five minutes ago. I'm truly sorry. Even if we hadn't been delayed, we couldn't have gotten you there in time. "

They gathered their shattered leader into their embrace as the trinity comforted one another.

Seven survivors closed ranks around their leader as the ashes of victory swirled around them.

In another place, a place no humans had ever seen, eight forms gathered around, watching the scenes unfolding.

" He may yet lose his way." observed Brahman, dispassionate as always.

"Your and My champions will not let him give up, " Kane said, compassionate as always." They are together, more fully than they even realize. And Jackson's mother has a legacy for him that will help him greatly."

Brahman shoed an uncharacteristic bit of sympathy, " And poor Eric will discover that his mother's perversions may rival the Russell twins. His own origin is as twisted as theirs."

" And they aren't out of the woods s yet, as the humans say. They may yet have to serve us again, " Zeus boomed. " There was another foe that they knew not."

Tagaloa stood and commanded silence . " Enough. The next trial may not come, not for months. For now, our champions have to rest and heal. Their next adventures will be as humans." He smiled grimly

" They had survived pirates, pilot, drugs and monsters. But can they survive Hartwell High? That is the next big challenge for them, and it is one worthy of the Champions of the Gods!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Trilogy is over. Now the ongoing series starts. The first of the New Stories is Flight 29Down: Crash Landing.

Here's a little of What's going to be in it:

Daley and Nathan discover that there aint' one set of twins on the way!

Eric finds out who his real father was!

And Jackson finally reveal who he lost his virginity to.

Oh, and someone is trying to kill all seven of them and surprise, it's not a Russell or demon!

To My Big Three Reviewerss, Jouce, Sugar144 and Angelof Vengeance8, who have been here since Hotel Havoc, Thanks and I love you. Also, the unofficial fourth who disappeared, chrono-contract

To the ones who also dropped by , thanks. Maybe you'll read some more of my stories one day:

Jelissalover, Calla Argenue, lovelee445 , Writerexpress15, pepper fudge .lemonrocker,SPNlover308, Kinikini13, fanpiregirl15, everybodylovesanirishgirl, Dally2, and kylem.


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